1. technology and computing

Working Within: The Pedagogy and Practice of Technology Professional Development
A Thesis Submitted to the College of
Graduate Studies and Research
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Master of Education
In the Department of Curriculum Studies
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon
By
Wendy James
Keywords: pedagogy, professional development, technology integration, computers, technology,
epistemology, barriers
 Copyright L. Wendy James September, 2006. All rights reserved.
PERMISSION TO USE
In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree
from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it
freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any
manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors
who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean
of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or
publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without
my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the
University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my
thesis.
Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part
should be addressed to:
Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7N 0X1
ABSTRACT
Many researchers have been critical of teachers’ failure to implement computer use
effectively in the classroom. In order to question the role that pedagogical issues may play in the
success of the implementation process, this study looks at the beliefs of professional developers
who are responsible for helping K-12 teachers learn to teach with computers. Five professional
developers from Saskatchewan were asked to describe their professional practice by focusing on
what they thought effective use of computers was and how they thought their beliefs affected
their practice. The heart of the study was the story of the professional developers’ experiences
and the way in which their practices evolved over time to meet needs they saw.
The professional developers were a diverse group of former teachers. They had taught in a
wide variety of settings and for varied lengths of time. They were purposefully selected for
involvement in provincial initiatives and providing professional development around computers
in their home divisions. The participants shared their experiences through an informal semistructured interview and follow up questions. The transcripts of the conversations comprised the
data, and their examples, statements of belief, and experiences formed the basis for the
interpretation of the results.
The findings revealed that the professional developers identified both first and second order
barriers to the use of computers in classrooms. Each person described a transition from
traditional professional development practice to a personal style with the deliberate addition of
pedagogical emphasis. They concluded that the current practice of teaching with computers
generally did not meet their definition of effective and emphasized the need to question why
computers are being used the way they are.
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The findings from this study indicate that the professional developers believed their pedagogy
and practice as professional developers to be intertwined. They also confirmed Coopla’s (2004)
argument that pedagogy is the critical first element for effective teaching with computers. From
the prospective of the participants, pedagogy, not technology defines how effective the process
of integration is in K-12 classrooms.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The creation of my thesis was far from a solitary endeavor, and I am very grateful to many
people who helped me complete it. My year of reflection and research was supported by my
division, Saskatoon Public School Division, and I feel fortunate to have had this time to think
and learn.
My greatest academic support came from my thesis advisor, Richard Schwier. Dr. Schwier is
an insightful, challenging mentor, and this thesis is much better than my original plan might have
made it. I appreciate his rigor, his willingness to take risks, and his ability to sustain both my
convoluted process. Those who know me understand that I can be dogged in my approach and
my work ethic. Dr. Schwier was unfailingly supportive of me without supporting some bad
habits.
I would also like to thank my participants, Donna DesRoches, Michelle Faucher, Tom
German, Karen Henderson, and Michelle Morley for their time and insight. They are busy
people who are always leading others in projects, so their wisdom was invaluable and their time
was nonexistent. I feel particularly lucky be able to share what they have learned given the
context of their daily lives.
I have had the privilege of working with a thesis committee who asked me interesting and
provocative questions. In addition to Dr. Schwier, I worked with Dr. Dirk Morrison and Dr. Len
Proctor. I appreciate their resources and excellent judgment.
Finally, I would like to thank my husband and my daughters for their continued support of all
my educational endeavors. I am happy to have a family that loves learning, and their enthusiasm
and energy is contagious. Mike continues to be my partner in everything I do, and Leora and
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Anwyn are my delight. Mike has been my editor, proofreader and critic at every stage of my
work.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................. III
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................................ V
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................10
NEED FOR THE STUDY.....................................................................................................................12
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY.................................................................................................................. 13
ASSUMPTIONS................................................................................................................................ 14
DELIMITATIONS.............................................................................................................................. 15
DEFINITION OF TERMS.....................................................................................................................16
Integration of Technology..................................................................................................... 16
Learning From Computers.................................................................................................... 16
Learning With Computers..................................................................................................... 16
Professional Development.....................................................................................................17
Professional Developers........................................................................................................17
Technology............................................................................................................................ 17
Transformational Computer Use...........................................................................................17
STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT............................................................................................................ 18
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE........................................................................................... 19
ASSESSING OF IMPACT OF COMPUTERS ON STUDENT LEARNING.............................................................19
CLASSIFYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPUTERS AND TEACHING................................................. 21
MODELS OF STAGES OF COMPUTER USE............................................................................................22
BARRIERS TO USE.......................................................................................................................... 23
MEETING THE GOAL OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT........................................................................ 24
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH ................................................................................................................. 25
WAVES OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE........................................................................... 26
PROBLEMS WITH CURRENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE......................................................27
Availability of Professional Development............................................................................. 29
Traditional Computer Professional Development and Adult Learning Needs .................... 30
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................32
A METHODOLOGY OF MAKING MEANING.....................................................................34
METHODOLOGY..............................................................................................................................34
RESEARCH DESIGN......................................................................................................................... 35
Step One – Focusing the Narrative on the Problem..............................................................35
Step Two - Process Development.......................................................................................... 36
Step Three - Approval and Access.........................................................................................36
Step Four – Collecting Data..................................................................................................37
Step Five - Interpretation...................................................................................................... 37
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Step Six - Development of Over-arching Themes..................................................................38
PARTICIPANTS................................................................................................................................ 39
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS................................................................................................... 40
RESULTS..................................................................................................................................... 43
RESEARCHER’S EXPERIENCES............................................................................................................ 43
PERSPECTIVES OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPERS................................................................................45
Karen Henderson...................................................................................................................45
Construction of self............................................................................................................46
Transitions and technology use..........................................................................................47
Beliefs about the role of computers................................................................................... 47
Pedagogy............................................................................................................................48
Professional development practice.................................................................................... 49
Barriers ..............................................................................................................................50
.............................................................................................................................................. 50
Tom German.......................................................................................................................... 50
Construction of self............................................................................................................51
Transitions and technology use..........................................................................................52
Beliefs about the role of computers................................................................................... 52
Pedagogy............................................................................................................................53
Professional development practice.................................................................................... 54
Barriers...............................................................................................................................55
Michelle Faucher...................................................................................................................56
Construction of self............................................................................................................56
Transitions and technology use..........................................................................................57
Beliefs about the role of computers................................................................................... 58
Pedagogy............................................................................................................................58
Professional development practice.................................................................................... 59
Barriers ..............................................................................................................................60
Donna DesRoches................................................................................................................. 61
Construction of self............................................................................................................61
Transitions and technology use..........................................................................................62
Beliefs about the role of computers................................................................................... 63
Pedagogy............................................................................................................................64
Professional development practice.................................................................................... 64
Barriers...............................................................................................................................65
Michelle Morley.....................................................................................................................66
Construction of self............................................................................................................66
Transitions and technology use..........................................................................................67
Beliefs about the role of computers................................................................................... 67
Pedagogy............................................................................................................................68
Professional development practice.................................................................................... 69
Barriers...............................................................................................................................69
FINDINGS.................................................................................................................................... 71
ASSUMPTION ONE: ‘TECHNOLOGY JUST IS’......................................................................................... 71
ASSUMPTION TWO: ‘WE NEED UBIQUITOUS ACCESS’............................................................................ 72
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PARTICIPANT GOALS .......................................................................................................................74
Goal one: Helping teachers answer ‘why’............................................................................ 74
Goal two: ‘Unleashing learning’ ......................................................................................... 76
PERCEPTIONS OF EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE USE................................................................................77
Perceptions of effective uses of computers in the classroom................................................ 77
Perceptions of ineffective uses of computers in the classroom............................................. 78
PERCEPTIONS OF CURRENT PRACTICE.................................................................................................. 79
‘TRANSFORMING TEACHING AND LEARNING’........................................................................................80
UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF PERSONAL EPISTEMOLOGY ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE ..... 80
Types of barriers and problems with technology ................................................................. 81
Belief that traditional professional development does not meet the need............................. 82
How professional developers acquired beliefs......................................................................83
Transformation of professional development practice..........................................................84
Addition of pedagogy ............................................................................................................85
Changing professional development..................................................................................... 88
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................91
ABIDING VIEWS ABOUT THE ROLE OF COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM......................................................92
AFFECTS OF PERSONAL EPISTEMOLOGY ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE....................................94
IMPLICATIONS................................................................................................................................ 96
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE.................................................................................................... 97
Recommendations for professional development delivery.................................................... 97
Recommendations for professional dialogue........................................................................ 98
Recommendations for technology planning.......................................................................... 99
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESEARCH................................................................................................. 101
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................103
APPENDICIES.......................................................................................................................... 109
APPENDIX A – LETTER OF CONSENT.........................................................................................110
APPENDIX B - LETTER OF CONSENT FOR RELEASE OF TRANSCRIPTS FOR STUDY..............................115
APPENDIX C - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS....................................................................................... 117
APPENDIX D - LETTER OF REQUEST FOR PERMISSION FOR EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH
STUDY........................................................................................................................................ 118
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Pedagogy and Practice: the Effective Use of Computers through the Eyes of
Professional Developers
Leora Wendy James
Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the Master's in Educational Communication
and Technology, Department of Curriculum Studies.
Jan. 30, 2005
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
“I go into workshops and I say to people, ‘I love technology because technology is going to
replace teachers.’ And they look at me in anger because that’s always been the fear, and that’s
blasphemy. I say, ‘I mean replace as in reposition. You’re removed from being center stage and
you are now repositioned to the side of the student – you are now the coach, the partner on the
adventure.’ ”
Karen Schmidt Henderson (personal conversation, Nov. 29, 2005)
Karen Schmidt Henderson is one of a relatively small group of people in Saskatchewan with
an unenviable and exciting task. Part of her job description is to be a professional developer
whose goal is to train teachers how to integrate computers in the classroom. The research says
that Henderson faces a number of major barriers in her work. These factors include support, time
to learn, professional development, hardware and software , which are known as hard factors.
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Soft factors, or second order barriers like pedagogy, are the other side of the coin . Henderson
was the participant in a mini-study to inform the direction for my main study. She describes a
strong passion for her work, and a clear vision for how we transform our teaching using
computers. The reality of how difficult that task is becomes clear when Henderson tallies up the
frustrations. They start with basic issues like availability of computers and persuading educators
that computers have value beyond productivity, and move to complexities such as which forms
of the professional development she delivers are most effective. The expectations for what
teachers will do with computers and the facts of their practice intersect in the task of the
professional developer. The role of the professional developer may become an important new
avenue for examining how we can best support integration of computers in the classroom.
The use of computers in classrooms is supported in a variety of different ways throughout
Saskatchewan. In many cases, teachers learn about computers independently. Teachers can also
attend a variety of formal learning experiences from sessions about specific software or hardware
to workshops on ways to integrate computers in general. Some divisions offer support programs
like Mentorship or Catalyst Teacher programs, and some organizations offer release time to
learn. At the center of most of these offerings is a person or group of people who delivers the
professional development. Henderson is a part of this group of professional developers who form
the core of my investigation for this thesis.
The role of this group has become increasingly important as some of the issues impeding
teaching with computers are reduced. Ertmer (1999) defined first order obstacles as those that are
external – things like access, time or support. Similar barriers have been found in Saskatchewan
(Henderson et al., 2003). Ertmer’s second order barriers are internal, and include beliefs about
teaching and learning or learning practice. As many first order barriers begin to be resolved and
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classroom practice has remained largely unchanged, Ertmer’s second order barriers have recently
become a focus of research . In this context, an examination of the relationship between
pedagogy and practice is critical.
Like Henderson, other professional developers inject their work with their personal visions of
effective computer use in the classroom. It is “teachers’ attitudes towards technology, their
beliefs in teaching and learning, as well as their styles of teaching that effect how students use
technology and what sort of learning experience they will have” (Lai, 2001, p. 10). By focusing
on teacher skill level, software training and methods of professional development, we have
neglected a vital element, the pedagogy of the professional developers and the teachers
themselves.
Professional developers must wrestle with the major questions about the integration of
computers in classrooms in order to do their jobs effectively. They must ask themselves what
type of teaching with computers is effective and they must determine what the key factors in
effective use are so that they can plan their work. In order to answer these questions, they must
decide what outcomes demonstrate effective use, and what is the best starting point for teaching
about integration. As reflective practitioners, they must examine which methods of professional
development are most likely to encourage effective use, what resources are needed, and how they
will assess outcomes. In short, they must wrestle with content and process in the same way that
any classroom teacher does.
Need for the Study
A need for an increase in the beneficial use of computers is clear. Researchers have noted a
marked gap between what is currently perceived as good integration of computers and what
occurs . Lai (2001) contended that both pre-service and experienced teachers feel unprepared to
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integrate computers in their teaching because little training has been provided. Saskatchewan
teachers identify both the professional development process of learning about how to use
computers and knowing how to integrate computers as an instructional tool as barriers to
integration . Teacher skill level is often too low for meaningful integration on the large scale to
be possible, and Saskatchewan does not have a critical mass of teachers with the skills to use
computers effectively in instruction .
The need for an understanding of how to increase effective use of computers in K-12 is
particularly strong in Saskatchewan given the changes in school divisions. Many school
divisions are being restructured this year as part of a mandatory process, and the goal is to move
from 81 divisions to less than 30. As numerous smaller divisions are merged into larger ones, the
diversity of technology planning and technology professional development practice among the
different smaller divisions amalgamating into a large one must be discussed, and some common
values and practice must be established. Divisions are restructuring their informational
technology and curriculum departments, and they are looking ways to establish and measure best
practice. Understanding the role of professional development, and in particular the beliefs and
practices of professional development personnel, is key to making that change productive.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to understand the personal framework of formal professional
development for computer integration that occurs in the K-12 setting in Saskatchewan. Formal
professional development of groups may occur at the school, division, or provincial level. For
the purpose of this study, I will open conversations with people whose responsibility includes
educating others about effective ways to teach with computers. While much professional
learning occurs because of individual study or through informal mentorship or support, these
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types of professional development is rarely preplanned, and are typically informally structured
through evolving need. Since I wished to look at the structure and context of professional
development planning that is shaping practice in Saskatchewan, my participants were people
who regularly planned how they delivered professional development.
Research Questions
Individuals who instruct groups about how to integrate computers in the K-12 system are the
focus of this study. Through a series of semi-structured interviews with professional developers,
I explored the following questions:
1. What abiding views about the role of computers in the classroom underscore
professional developers' beliefs?
2. How do professional developers believe their personal epistemology affects their
practice?
Assumptions
The following assumptions were used in the study:
1. The use of a qualitative research paradigm, specifically narrative inquiry, is an
effective way of assessing data regarding how professional developers view and
conduct their practice.
2. The professional developers selected to participate are knowledgeable and able to
articulate their experiences and their epistemologies.
3. Using purposeful sampling to select participants is a valid way to gain access to
the expertise of the same group of computer-related professional developers in K12 education in Saskatchewan.
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Delimitations
This study is a narrative inquiry about the perceptions of a specific but varied group of
educators. The participants came to a professional focus on the use of technology in the
classroom for different reasons and have diverse professional experiences. This study does not
represent the views of all K-12 computer professional developers in Saskatchewan, let alone the
perspectives of a wider study group nationally or internationally. The number of participants was
deliberately kept small to facilitate depth of data over breadth of evidence.
I am a member of the group I surveyed, and bring the perspective of an insider. I viewed
what my participants said through the lens of my own experiences, and weighed the importance
of particular findings in that context. I believe computers are a valuable addition to the classroom
and my participants did not challenge that view. As a result, we may have excluded meaningful
information because it might undermine that belief. When I was first pressed to use computers in
my teaching, I was very doubtful of their value. Only professional reading, research studies and
years of experience have taught me otherwise. It is difficult for me to give credence to opinions I
formerly held, but have now rejected. This bias makes me a subjective narrator.
I also had some pre-conceived ideas that framed this study. I was uncertain whether teaching
pedagogy or current models for instruction with computers is the key factor in effective
integration, but I already believed that pedagogy was important in some way and was a largely
unexplored issue.
The clarity of my findings is complicated by the phrase "integration of technology". Both
professionally and academically, it most often means the use of computers in everyday teaching.
However, the word technology actually means far more than computers and their peripherals,
particularly to educational technologists. In addition, some educators in Saskatchewan use the
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phrase integration of technology to mean the effective use of computers to meet curricular
objectives, while others mean the use of computers for professional work, administration, cocurricular endeavors. Since my study will refer specifically to the use of computers in face-toface K-12 classrooms, I asked for my participants’ comments from that perspective. However,
there were many times where I was forced to interpret the intent of my participants and sources
when they use the phrase “integration of technology” or simply the word “technology”. I found
all of my participants used the word technology to mean computers, making the specific form of
technology they were discussing implied rather than explicit. I was continually interpreting the
word or phrase, and that interpretation may have affected the quality of the data I collect and the
way in which the data was understood.
Definition of Terms
Integration of Technology
There are many phrases associated with the use of computers in education from ComputerAssisted Learning to Technology-Enhanced Learning. The phrase “integration of technology”
was employed to mean the use of computers and related devices in instruction to support
curricular objectives.
Learning From Computers
Learning from computers is the process of using computers to deliver learning, for example a
tutorial. Computers become the vehicle for instruction.
Learning With Computers
Learning with computers is the process of using technology as a tool to support learning or
using technology as an instructional approach. Computers become a vehicle for collaboration
and generation.
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Professional Development
Professional development is defined as the learning gained through formal experiences
designed to alter teaching practice. The designer of these experiences can be the teacher, a group
of teachers or an external authority. My focus was professional development practice or
structure designed by an external authority such as a consultant, coordinator, teacher librarian or
educational technologist.
Professional Developers
Professional developers are people who plan, deliver and support the learning experiences of
others, specifically the learning experiences designed support the use of computers in
classrooms. In Saskatchewan, these people may or may not be teachers, but they have spent a
number of years learning about and working with computers in K-12 education. Professional
developers might include school division staff, consultants with Saskatchewan Learning,
members of the Educational Technology Consortium, or employees of the Saskatchewan
Teacher’s Federation.
Technology
While many things can be defined as technology, for the purpose of this study, I will be
looking at computers and related peripherals. I will also include devices that interact with
personal computers, like digital cameras.
Transformational Computer Use
Transformational use of computers occurs when computers are used to change the way
students learn or the way curriculum is constructed.
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Structure of the Project
In the five remaining chapters, I have explained the context of the question, reported on my
results and discussed my conclusions and recommendations. In Chapter Two, I completed a
review of the related literature on teaching with computers and the characteristics of professional
development for technology integration. I connected the literature about effective use with the
literature about effective professional development to support use and underscore the role of the
professional developer. In Chapter Three, I provided a detailed account of the procedure used to
collect my data. In Chapter Four, I discussed each participant’s story as garnered through our
interview. I reported my findings in Chapter Five and drew conclusions from my findings in
Chapter Six.
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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
The debate about the role of computers in learning frames our classroom practice, our
training, our epistemology and our assessment. It is also at the core of the experiences of
professional developers. Each professional developer must decide what use is effective and why
it is effective in order to frame his or her instruction for teachers. I have chosen to discuss what
the research says about how we use computers and why we use them because it provides an
essential backdrop to frame the discussion of the pedagogy of professional developers. At the
core of the pedagogy of the professional developers is a personal assessment of the impact and
potential value of computers in education.
Assessing of Impact of Computers on Student Learning
Cuban argued that the introduction of computers in schools was propelled by business uses,
not educational ones (Woodward & Cuban, 2001). Many factors have been have been used to
justify the use of computers in education, including motivation, unique instructional
opportunities, new ways to approach curriculum, skill development, and increased productivity
(Roblyer & Schwier, 2003). Many of these rationales are directly linked to the learning process.
In order to assess the legitimacy of these justifications, scholars have measured the learnerrelated justifications against outcomes for students with little agreement. Studies have found
important, quantifiable improvements in test scores (Butzin, 2001; Mann & Shafer, 1997).
However, opponents contend that computer use stunts fundamental skills (Wenglinsky, 1998) or
19
20
damages literacy (Armstrong & Casement, 1998). In the end, “the number and quality of studies
on educational impact has been disappointing” (Roblyer & Schwier, 2003, p. 10). The number of
potential variables makes accurate findings difficult, and the focus on standardized test scoring is
best suited to assessing only a few uses of computers. Ringsaff and Kelly (2002) noted that
computer use beyond simple tutorials is difficult to measure. In addition, changes in the way we
use computers are making measurement increasingly difficult. The debate about how to assess
the impact of computers on student learning continues.
For professional developers, this debate is at the core of their work lives. They must justify
and defend their choices without clear, empirical evidence. In many cases, lived and subjective
experiences become the foundation for the belief that computers benefit students. For many
professional developers, it is the potential of computers to transform teaching, not the current
practice that drives their beliefs. Henderson says simply, “I dwell in possibility” (personal
conversation, Nov. 29, 2005). The current value of the computer, but more importantly its
potential future value, is entwined in her pedagogy as a professional developer.
Hokanson and Hooper (2004) contended “the future of computer is not to make education
easier, but rather to make learning more effective” (p. 250). They noted that teaching with
computer, not teaching from computer is the key to educational success. Hokanson and Hooper
asserted that generative uses would result both in better outcomes for students and stronger
adoption by teachers. This concept is reinforced in the literature (Jacobsen, Clifford, & Friesen,
2002; Means, Penuel, & Padilla, 2001). However, methods of assessing the value of these
generative uses tend to include interview, observation, or ethnography, so the value of particular
practices tends to be highly contextual. For professional developers, experiences and the
assessment of them form the basis for evolving pedagogy and practice.
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Classifying the Relationship between Computers and Teaching
Hokanson and Hooper (2004) based their argument on a distinction between two
philosophical approaches: teaching from computers and teaching with computers. Teaching from
computers includes things like computer-based instruction, computer-assisted instruction, and
integrated learning systems. It can be a tutorial, game or independent learning program. It values
transmission of information and is supplantive in nature. Its goals focus on more effective
delivery of knowledge and increased skills (Ringstaff & Kelley, 2002). Hokanson and Hooper
(2004) argued that teaching from computers alone could only improve access or efficiency.
In contrast to teaching from computers, teaching with computers has a wide variety of
impacts. Because the values embodied by teaching with computers are generative and
transformative, the nature of the goals and the resulting impacts can be felt in many areas
(Ringstaff & Kelley, 2002). Means (1994) argued that teaching with computers develops
problem solving and critical thinking skills and that computer is a tool used across diverse
curriculum. Others contend that teaching with computers holds the power to transform
curriculum and more importantly, teaching itself (Hokanson & Hooper, 2004). Some go as far as
to contend that computer alters self-concept or self-esteem when used as a tool (Sivin-Kachala,
Bialo, & Langford, 1997). When computer are used as a with not a from, another group beyond
students stands to benefit – teachers. Teaching with computer does not just remove fear of
replacement. It also transforms both teaching practice and the learning itself (Jacobsen, Clifford,
& Friesen, 2002b).
The distinction between teaching from a computer and teaching with a computer is at the core
of many educational debates about computer use, but the distinction is much clearer in theory
than in application. While those who teach with computers value constructivist theory, they also
22
use objectivist practice in meeting their goals. And as distance education, which embraces
teaching from computers, has evolved, it uses a number of tools designed to foster virtual
learning communities. These tools include a number of elements related to teaching with
computers. The distinction between from and with is further complicated by the question of
measurement. Evaluation of constructivist computer projects focuses on indicators assessed
through observation and case study, where the data collection and analysis occur simultaneously
(Jacobsen, Clifford, & Friesen, 2002a).
For professional developers, the construction of training environments is reliant on their view
of the computers. Teaching from or with computers impacts the learning teachers experience and
the opportunities they have. Moreover, each use represents a separate (although not mutually
exclusive) philosophical position about what uses of computers are effective. Terms like
teaching with computers and teaching from computers not only give a clear vocabulary for
discussing pedagogy, they also distinguish how a person views and assesses what is best
practice.
Models of Stages of Computer Use
The debate about the effectiveness of how we use computers to support our students’ learning
is complicated not only by how the computer is being used, but also by the teacher who is using
it. Researchers use various models to assess the ways in which teachers use computers, the
technical skills those teachers have, and the ways students’ learning is affected. Teachers move
through a number of stages according to Sandholtz (1991). In Entry level, teachers have little or
no interest in computers, but in Adoption, teachers’ interests shift to learning skills to support
text-based instruction. By Adaptation, teachers are experimenting with new technologies and
using computers for higher level thinking processes. With Appropriation, teachers are using
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computers in project-based ways to meet student needs and observing changes in student
behavior. This is extended in Invention, where teachers pair diverse computer use with
constructivist philosophy and altered ways of thinking about curriculum or teaching and
learning.
Teachers are both a professional developer’s students and end users. Their pre-requisite
knowledge, attitudes, experiences and ideas are essential to the development of learning
experiences. When the professional developer designs the instruction, his or her perceptions of
the learners are important. Since many professional developers deal with a group of unfamiliar
teachers at a variety of stages, developing ways of generalizing the teachers’ abilities and
experiences connects pedagogy and practice.
Barriers to Use
Hokanson and Hooper (2004) noted that Integration and other more advanced stages exist on
the continuum from available to effective. They used Ertmer’s (1999) levels of integration
obstacles to focus problems in integration beyond first order obstacles and onto second order
ones. The intersection between second order barriers and teacher skill levels in integration has
brought the role of pedagogy in computer professional development sharply into focus. The heart
of work to support effective integration must now center on changing teacher beliefs (Hokanson
& Hooper, 2004). In addition, a focus on the pedagogy of those who teach about computers is
now essential in understanding how to create the meaningful use of computers in classrooms
(Bai & Ertmer, 2004). The meeting of professional developers’ practice and their technology
epistemologies is an important new frontier. For the professional developers themselves,
pedagogy is a construct that their instruction is build on and it is also a tool for reflection. It
provides a potential instrument for understanding teacher practice, and for changing it.
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Meeting the Goal of Professional Development
In order to understand the role of the pedagogy in the work of a computer professional
developer, one must first look at both the nature of professional development and the value of
professional development in effecting change. According to Fullan and Mascall (2000),
professional development is “the sum of learning through formal and informal experiences” (p.
38). Professional development is tool used to help teachers grow and change in ways that are
perceived to be beneficial for students .
Lai (2001a) contends that we need to start professional development about computers with the
question of why we would use a computer at all. Once the why is established, he contends we
can move to the question of how to use that computer. Since the major focus of teacher
professional development is creating meaningful growth that benefits the whole school
community, particularly the students, we must begin with questions that ground the process of
professional development. Coppola (2004) argued that teachers ask, “How will this affect my
students’ learning?” as the main question before deciding whether to use computers at all, then
make decisions based on how effective or ineffective as educational tools computers are
perceived to be. Professional development that does not persuade teachers that the computer is a
useful tool for students will not result in use in the classroom; a point that clearly highlights the
need for computer-related professional development to focus on student outcomes. If we fail to
make professional development effective, the expensive computer investment will yield little
return for students.
Understanding the goal of professional development provides a way of assessing the
pedagogy and practice of professional developers themselves. Pedagogy and instructional goals
are linked to each other and to the instructional approaches selected by the professional
25
developer. Research is starting to articulate that professional development that is not linked to
the pedagogy of teacher-learners does not change practice. I will be looking to see if the
professional developers in the study confirm this idea. Since the reason they are conducting
professional development is to change teacher practice and benefit students, it will be fascinating
to see if professional developers believe they meet those goals. It will also be interesting to see
what parts of their practice they perceive as critical in trying to impact student and teacher
experiences.
Professional Growth
Effective professional development is longitudinal process, not a one-time staff development
event (Guskey, 2002). If the desired outcome is change in practice, then we must define
professional development as a process and assess its relative effectiveness in that context.
Coppola (2004) found that teachers who successfully used computers did not merely incorporate
new software in classroom practice. Rather the computer use and the pedagogy of the teacher
become entwined: “When asked about their philosophies on how to use technology, the teachers
wove pedagogical theories into their responses. When asked about their philosophy of teaching,
use of technology was often a prominent feature in the answer” (Coopla, 2004, p. 114).
Coppola’s observed outcomes match the highest levels of use in models like Sandholtz’s 1991
Stages of Integration, where seamless, appropriate use is accompanied by pedagogical and actual
classroom change. If Coppola was correct, then the connection between pedagogy and practice
should be explicit and continual in the professional development that the developers in this study
perceive as effective.
Guskey (2002) articulated five measures for assessing the effectiveness of professional
development. Initially he suggested that the reaction of the participants be scanned to see if they
26
enjoyed and valued their experience. Then he proposed that their learning as a result must be
assessed. If levels one and two are met, he recommended looking at organizational support and
change to see if it is will aid in the professional development effort and sustain the learning.
Then Guskey suggested that the application of the learning be assessed in level four and the
outcomes for students be assessed in level five. From Guskey’s (2002) perspective, achieving
Coppola’s (2004) observations of effective integration involves far more than any one workshop,
and requires far more than a feedback form to assess the quality of the experience. If Guskey and
Coppola are correct about the key elements of effective professional development and computer
integration professional development does not reflect their principles, much of the professional
development currently offered in Saskatchewan may be largely ineffective.
Waves of Professional Development Practice
Jacobsen (2001) argued that there have been three clear waves of professional development to
support the integration of technology. She contended that early professional development efforts
focused on helping teachers develop technical skills and that this type of professional
development is largely ineffective. ‘Sit and get’ sessions like these remain common place in
Saskatchewan . Jacobsen (2001) noted the second wave of professional development focused on
the marriage of pedagogy and technology. However, she contended that this professional
development was centrally located and still typically in short workshop form. Again, she
characterized this work as largely ineffective. She noted that third wave of technology
professional development is delivered in the teacher’s school and includes mentorship and
support for the teacher. Henderson et al. (2003) confirm that this form of professional
development results in much greater use of technology by teachers. This third wave of profession
27
development is also more likely to meet Coppola’s and Guskey’s criteria for effective
professional development.
Jacobsen’s waves of technology professional development do not appear to be a linear process
in the Saskatchewan context. While all three forms of professional development she discusses
appear to exist in Saskatchewan, there is no compelling evidence that a large-scale progression
from one-time skills workshops to mentorship models is occurring (Henderson et al., 2003).
Mentorship programs exist in some divisions. In addition, release time to learn, like that
provided by the Web-based Learning Resource Development, has resulted in more diverse use of
technology in classrooms . However, the need for substantive change in professional
development practice to support teaching with technology is clear (Henderson et al., 2003). The
experiences of the professional developers in this study may provide additional information
about the types of professional learning offered in Saskatchewan.
Problems with Current Professional Development Practice
Much of the available professional development falls far short of creating the desired change.
Researchers attribute the discrepancy between our goals and our practice (Lai, 2001b). They
contend that change is always difficult to create, and that computers are always changing, so the
process is never completed (Cuban, 2001). In addition, they note that insufficient professional
development is available, decision-making regarding types of professional development is
flawed, many of the common forms of professional development do not meet teacher needs, and
supports for computer use remains low . A number of factors play a role in the problems
surrounding professional development.
Change is always present in schools. The teacher who is not learning new computer skills is
likely reading a new text, conversing with parents about how to change a program to meet
28
student needs or altering instructional approaches. Pressure to change and little time to do it in is
reality (Cuban, 2001). Moving towards effective computer use is not merely just another change
– it is a massive shift in how schools function. Cuban contended that changes that result in
effective computer use “entail fundamental shifts in the teacher’s and student’s roles, the social
organization of the classroom and power relationships between teacher and students” (2001,
p.134). It is unsurprising that after school sessions on the use of PowerPoint have not resulted in
the wide-ranging shifts that Cuban describes. Even when a professional development session
convinces a teacher that PowerPoint might help students, the use of tool can often result in what
MacKenzie described as powerpointlessness .
The problem lies in fact that effective uses are sometimes at odds with teacher pedagogy, so
skills training does not encourage classroom use that meets the need for student learning.
Ultimately, computer use following professional development is not creating the changes we
hope it will: “Technology alone does not change school practice. Curriculum goals and
materials, assessment policies, and teacher development must shift as well. Without these
changes, a new technology will merely be used to enact traditional practices” (Wiske as cited in
Gordan, 2000, p. 70). Cuban (2001) reinforced this sentiment and contends technical
innovations are typically being used to reinforce traditional practices in our schools. Craft (1996)
drew similar conclusions and contended that professional development must be ongoing to have
any significant impact on teaching or learning.
Over seventy percent of teachers in Saskatchewan believe that general technology use is
valuable (Henderson et al., 2003). However, in order for that belief to translate into a significant
impact on student learning, teachers must believe specific technologies match a clear student
need. Speck (1999) said that professional development must be clearly relevant to daily activities
29
and problems, or it will not be applied. In the case of computer-related professional
development, this means that the pedagogy associated with the computer should be accepted as
valuable before the learning can focus on acquisition of specific skills: “The teachers’ decision to
adopt classroom technology should therefore be considered an early part of their learning.
Essentially, they have to decide whether the computers are worth learning using before they can
learn how to use them in the classroom; otherwise they do not focus sufficiently on the learning
process to work through all the barriers they encounter” (Coppola, 2004, p. 111-112).
The decision to focus professional development on increasing computer skills is an
understandable one, since most Saskatchewan teachers do not have the skills to use computers
effectively in their classrooms (Henderson et al., 2003). And while computer skill acquisition
should not be the first step in professional development, it is often a key component. Craft (1996)
argued that teacher professional development must be based on a careful assessment of teacher
needs and prior learning, using a process like the one a teacher uses to meet the learning need of
each student. Jacobsen (2001) noted that professional development focused on increasing
technology skills is ineffective unless paired with pedagogy and situated in the classroom.
Availability of Professional Development
Even if professional development regarding computers was on-going, focused on the goal of
improving student learning, starting with pedagogy and appropriate to teachers’ needs, it might
not be effective. The current availability does not meet the level of the need. Lai (2001a)
commented that the problem stems from insufficient funding. Researchers recommend spending
thirty percent of the technology budget on training , an amount echoed in calls within
Saskatchewan (Henderson et al., 2003). However, school divisions in Saskatchewan spent an
average of 1.7% of their technology budgets on professional development in 2003 (Harkness et
al., 2004). Sufficient funding becomes an even larger issue in the context of current trends in
30
professional development. If researchers are correct that we need to shift away from traditional
one-shot professional development and into long term plans with on-going supports (Guskey,
2002; Jacobsen, 2001), then the cost to create professional development will be greater. Already
inadequate funding for meeting professional development challenges will now be beyond
insufficient .
Traditional Computer Professional Development and Adult Learning Needs
Sullivan noted (1999) that traditional practices in the integration of computers are criticized
because they make connections to classroom learning almost accidentally. Cuban (2001)
described common forms of computer professional development for teachers as “generic
training” that is “often irrelevant to their specific and immediate needs” (p. 98). Such
professional development may be driven by prior computer purchases and not by a stated teacher
or student need.
A comparison between Speck’s adult learning theory (1999, p. 62) and the traditional
workshop or session on an application of computer reveals clear disparity. Many of the
traditional forms of professional development like workshops, conferences and after school
sessions tend to focus on methods of learning that do not meet the need articulated in adult
learning theory. For example, Speck stated objectives must be relevant to student learning, and
sit and get sessions are often focused on teacher skill acquisition and divorced from student
learning (Sullivan, 1999). Speck’s other principles include: adults want to be in control of
learning; adults will oppose learning where competency is attacked; adults need direct
application; follow up support needed to transfer learning to daily practice; structured feedback
after practice is essential; opportunity to work collaboratively improves application of materials;
professional development must meet adult learners where they are because prior experiences are
diverse; and adults enjoy a novel learning experience. Many of the principles Speck suggests are
31
simply not present, or are infrequent, like follow up (Sparks & Hirsh, 1997). With the possible
exception, traditional sit and get sessions about an application accomplish none of Speck’s
principles.
The divergence between the common forms of instruction and the preferred methods of
learning has not created the ideal learning environment. Combined with high levels of change
and low levels of funding, the results have been far from laudable. Traditional forms of computer
professional development do not result in high levels teacher application of learning, and
therefore do not typically achieve their goals. Surveys of twenty percent of Saskatchewan’s
teachers revealed that they could not even remember what their technology professional
development was about, let alone apply their learning (Henderson et al., 2003). Henderson et al.
commented that much of the learning comprised traditional forms, and Rodriguez and Knuth
(2000) confirmed that “traditional sit-and-get training sessions or one-time-only workshops have
not been effective in making teachers comfortable with using technology or adept at integrating
it into their lesson plans”. Sandholtz (2001) noted that we must follow the principles of effective
teaching for students if we want success when we create professional development for teachers.
For the professional developers in the study, the barriers to effective professional
development represent a real and pressing problem. When teachers find a type of professional
development ineffective and the topic irrelevant to their beliefs or beyond their skill sets and
ambitions, the professional development is unlikely to meet its goals. At the center of this
problem is the professional developer, who believes the use of computers to help students learn
is important, and is tasked with changing teacher practice.
Many forms of professional development are better suited to supporting the integration of
computers in the classroom. Professional Growth Plans where teachers select integration topics
32
and learn about them independently can be very effective. Teacher with moderate to high skill
level often report that learning on their own is very effective, provided they are given sufficient
time (Coppola, 2004; James et al., 2004). Mentorship, modeling, partnerships and catalyst
teachers all meet the needs of adult learners and are sources of skills application and integration .
Conclusion
Ertmer’s (1999) first order integration obstacles such as access, time or support can be met by
professional development that is effective by most common definitions. Newer forms of
professional development have begun to reduce many of them. However, Ertmer’s second order
barriers, such as beliefs about teaching and learning or beliefs about learning practice, are more
difficult to satisfy. They require that professional development meet Cuban’s (2001) challenge
for school change and that professional development transform not only skill level, but also
teaching style and pedagogy . To meet Guskey’s (2002) levels of effective professional
development, the changes must be systemic and measurable in student outcomes. Guskey and
Cuban presented a difficult challenge that professional developers must face in the context of all
barriers suggested by Ertmer (1999) and Jacobsen (2001). Research suggests that to date,
professional developers have been unable to overcome both first and second order barriers on a
large enough scale to help teachers significantly impact students as a group.
The professional developers in this study know first hand how many barriers have yet to be
met. They live or have lived in a world described by Jacobsen’s first and second waves of
professional development to support computer integration (2001). Many of the teachers that
professional developers work with do not have computer-related planning skills or use skills, and
they are unsure how to integrate computers in the classroom. There is insufficient time for
working with curricula and computers, and many things must be done on a teacher’s own time.
33
Jacobsen (2003) noted there is limited support for implementation or assessment, and that
teachers struggle with the new ways their students understand and demonstrate learning through
various media. Teachers have had insufficient prior professional development and most of that
professional development was training about how to use applications . This is a reality that
strikes to the heart of what professional developers do.
All of these barriers are realities for most professional developers, and yet the developers
continue to work towards integration. Their persistence in computer professional development
and their own beliefs about integration play a role not only in what they teach about using
computers, but how they teach about using computer (Bai & Ertmer, 2004). If second order
barriers are to be reduced, it is not sufficient to merely conduct professional development over
time or provide additional supports. Internal conditions like appropriate pedagogy must be
addressed through the professional development experiences teachers have. Beliefs about
integration may underscore professional developers’ practice and we need to start assessing what
role this plays in meeting the goals of professional development about the use computers in
classrooms. Because these issues are elusive and difficult to assess, dialogue provides a
reasonable method to examine the role of pedagogy in professional development and ultimately,
the integration of computers in K-12 classrooms.
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CHAPTER 3
A METHODOLOGY OF MAKING MEANING
The ways in which we come to understanding are as important as the things we think we
understand. These ways of understanding are filtered through the lens of the research design, the
subjective views of the participants, and the experiences and perspectives of the researcher.
Because I am exploring the philosophies of professional developers through the ways in which
those views are experienced, I selected a qualitative methodology for this study.
Methodology
In its broadest sense, qualitative research explores how individuals and groups understand the
world. Because qualitative research allows participants the opportunity to explain how they have
constructed meaning from their specific experiences, it is best suited to exploring how
professional developers think computers should be used in the classroom and why they hold
those opinions. In particular, this study focuses on the way in which the participants have made
their own definitions of effective technology use meaningful, and how that meaning was
constructed through experiences.
I considered three basic approaches to answering my first research question that asked what
abiding views about the role of computers in the classroom underscore the professional
developers beliefs. I initially considered an ethnographic study, but decided that my focus was
35
more strongly on understanding what views the participants have rather than understanding their
daily lives. I also considered grounded theory, since I wanted to look beyond the experiences of
one person and into the philosophical commonalities of the group in general. I ultimately
concluded that I found the story of the participant in my pre-study compelling, and I wanted to
give public articulation to other people who had similar work experiences. I continue to value
voices of my participants and have allowed their words and lives to dictate the ways in which
their stories unfolded with in the study. I wanted to know how professional developers believe
their epistemology affects their practice, so I needed to understand their individual views, beliefs,
assumptions and values around the use of computers. As a result, I decided to ground my
research design in narrative inquiry.
Research Design
My basic procedure for conducting the research was based on Creswell’s (2002) summary of
narrative inquiry. Creswell notes that narrative research “seeks to understand and represent
experience through the stories individuals live and tell” (p. 525).
Step One – Focusing the Narrative on the Problem
The role of narrative inquiry is to examine meaning of the individual’s experience as told
through a story. Narrative inquiry allows for the discussion of the richness of context, and allows
for the depth of experiences to surface through the participants’ eyes. I found common elements
in the lived experiences of my participants and tried to see how their views about the role of
computers in education have been shaped. I also assessed how their pedagogy played out in their
practice to see if their pedagogy was as critical in their perceptions as literature is beginning to
articulate it might be.
36
Step Two - Process Development
Because I am exploring how professional developers think computers should be used in the
classroom and why they hold those opinions, I have directly examined their philosophies and
their self-described thinking processes. In my second research question, I looked at how my
participants said they applied their philosophies during their professional development work. By
looking at their application processes, I was able to determine how their pedagogy and practice
are intertwined. I also hope to able to connect places where pedagogy and practice are markedly
different to the barriers discussed in the literature. Narrative inquiry in general “seeks to
minimize the use of literature and focus on the experiences of the individuals (Creswell, 2002, p.
525). However, it is important to situate those stories not only within Saskatchewan educational
experience (Creswell, 2002), but also to frame those lived experiences in the context in which
they are currently presented in the literature.
In particular, I strived to avoid co-opting the voices of my participants or imposing themes on
their experiences. In response, I used active coding to help my analysis during the collection of
data, and paid special attention to the words and constructs employed by my participants. I have
tried to tell my own story interwoven through the stories of my participants, but I have focused
my story on them.
Step Three - Approval and Access
Because I worked with people and investigated their perceptions and lives, I worked to reduce
risks to them and approach the research in a clear, appropriate manner. I applied for and received
ethics approval from the University of Saskatchewan. I developed a Consent to Participate form
for my participants based on the University’s guidelines (see Appendix A). This form explained
the voluntary nature of participation, the right to withdraw and the way in which data would be
used. It also provided contact information for the researchers and information about how the data
37
would be collected. Participants were able to select whether or not they wished to be identified,
and all of them chose to be identified.
I had one pre-study participant and four study participants. In totally, I contacted seven people
to invite them to participate. Once the study participant indicated an interest in participating, we
discussed the process for obtaining permission from the school divisions. If there was a process
in place, a formal letter was sent to the appropriate person (see Appendix D) and the division’s
process was followed.
Once participants agreed to participate they were given the Consent to Participate (see
Appendix A), a copy of the semi-structured interview questions (see Appendix C) and a copy of
the transcript release form (see Appendix B) to preview before the first interview.
Step Four – Collecting Data
I conducted an initial interview with each of my four study participants, and then had my
participants review and modify smoothed partial transcripts of our conversations. Smoothed and
partial transcripts are ones that have been edited to remove paralinguistic utterances,
unintelligible comments or irrelevant material like interruptions from third parties. Participants
modified their transcripts and added additional commentary to their original comments. I only
used material from the participant approved transcripts and comments as the transcript data. Next
I provided my participants with a copy of their personal section in Chapter Four. A narrative
seeks to tell the story of a participant using the words and perceptions of the individual. I asked
my participants to look over the section and provide me with comments about story of their
interviews so the chapter could more accurately reflect their stories.
Step Five - Interpretation
Because a constant comparative methodology will be used, my coding categories were open
and not pre-determined. Where possible, I will use in vivo codes composed from the exact words
38
of the participants. Because it was my intent to capture the experiences and philosophies of my
participants without imposing my own words and perspectives where possible, I used the phrases
and constructs from the interview transcripts in reporting the findings. Following each interview,
I made comparisons to previous data and analysis, and search for common themes and areas of
dissonance. I made a series of reflective notes connecting the experiences of the participant to the
other participants and to my own experiences. Through this process and the act of re-telling, I
saw some themes within the stories of professional developers.
I considered the use various programs to help me with the data sorting and decided that I
would like to sort the data by hand this time. While I have used various programs in the past, I
had a small number of participants, and wanted the tactile experience of sorting data in addition
to the mental one.
I will begin the data collection process by transcribing each interview and arranging the
material chronologically (Bogdan, R. and Biklen, C., 2003). This is a critical first step to help me
track my own emerging thinking process as I wrote and reflected. I watched for terms or phrases
that are unfamiliar or repeated. When I found unfamiliar terms or references to ideas I am
unfamiliar with, I investigated them and added them to my notes. When a speaker who is very
fluent in a topic repeats ideas, the repetition often reveals the importance of a concept to the
speaker (Bogdan, R. and Biklen, C., 2003) and can be viewed as emphasis. I made note of these
repetitions and checked for correlations with other participants as a part of the emergent theming.
This process helped me begin to think about coding categories (Bogdan, R. and Biklen, C.,
2003).
Step Six - Development of Over-arching Themes
I used the emerging trends in the data to support an explanation of what the participant
professional developers believed about technology in the classroom and how those beliefs
39
affected the way in which pedagogy was integrated in their practice. I collapsed over 30 initial
codes into 18 categories and then into a few predominant themes. Then I focused on the
relationship between those themes and over-arching themes that respond to the research problem.
Finally, I placed the insights of the participants in the context of research about teacher practice
with technology and the research about effectiveness of various professional development
methods to look for similarities and differences.
Participants
Participants in the study were purposefully selected for involvement as K-12 professionals in
computer professional development and they were also selected as members of provincial
organizations. They were not selected for diversity of gender, age, or race. Six people, two men
and four women, were approached as participants in the study and four accepted. The four
individuals who accepted, together with the pre-study participant, are experienced, involved
professionals. All five are former teachers, although it was not a criterion for selection, and all of
the participants been involved in education for at least 10 years. Some have worked as teachers,
and then took on a professional development role when they accepted positions at the division
office or with Saskatchewan Learning. Others have been teacher librarians, distance educators or
principals. Some of the participants have worked as Technology Coordinators.
One of the criteria for selection was involvement in provincial decision-making or initiatives.
Four out of five of the participants have completed post-graduate work and the final person is
starting in the fall. The participants include a past-president of SACE, and a past winner of
awards for research in this area and a teacher-librarian.
The participants were not vetted for diversity of experience, but they did bring a wide range of
teaching practice. They have taught grades from Kindergarten to Grade 12, with subjects ranging
40
from Home Economics to Physics. In addition, they have taught in First Nations Schools, K-12
schools, K-8 schools, virtual schools, and high schools. Some participants have taught in large
urban comprehensive schools, and others have taught in small rural ones. In short, despite being
a small sample of people, they have a wide range of teaching experience to base their
observations and understanding on.
This purposeful sampling will allow me to select participants with both experience in
professional development and a provincial perspective. While I believe this method to be
effective, I also believe it had some inherent problems. My sampling method is not designed to
be representative of the diversity of viewpoints among the professional developers. In addition,
my sample size is relatively small, just five individuals, which could further effect the
generalizability of my findings.
Data Collection and Analysis
The interviews with participants were conducted at a location that was convenient for each
participant. The initial interviews took between one and two hours to complete, and there were
follow up email exchanges. The participants were given the option to be anonymous and they all
choose to be identified, except Tom German, who asked to be identified if it was consistent with
the other participants. In each case, the participant and I had a conversation, not a strictly
proscribed formal interview. I selected a semi-structured interview both because I wanted the
participants to be able to direct the discussion within the bounds of the topic, and because I had
generally had some prior contact with the participants. People who are provincially active in this
setting K-12 are a small group, and are largely familiar with many others in the same role. A
conversation was less stilted way of verbalizing the key ideas given that relationship.
41
This study relies primarily on interviews that construct the story of the participants. Since it is
my goal to examine what professional developers perceive and compare those perceptions, I
selected interviewing as the best way to garner those opinions. The interviewing process was
semi-structured. Where possible, I encouraged the participants to describe their perspectives
without my interference. I conducted five interviews over the course of this study. One was a
pre-cursor study with Karen Henderson to help me frame the study. It was conducted in
November 29, 2005. My interview with Henderson helped to set the tone for my later interviews
with my participants. Although there were pre-established questions (see Appendix C), we
referred to them only when we needed to. Henderson’s ideas, examples and reflections set the
direction for the conversation around her professional development practice. I used the same
process to build dialogue when I interviewed my other four participants in May of 2006.
Each participant chose the time and location for his or her interview. The interviews
ranged from around two hours to just under one hour. The participants were given the option to
be anonymous and they all choose to be identified, except Tom German, who asked to be
identified if it was consistent with the other participants. In each case, the participant and I had a
conversation, not a strictly proscribed formal interview. I selected a semi-structured interview
both because I wanted the participants to be able to direct the discussion within the bounds of the
topic, and because I generally had some prior contact with the participants. People who are
provincially active in this setting K-12 are a small group, and are largely familiar with many
others in the same role. A conversation was less stilted way of verbalizing the key ideas given
that relationship.
42
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS
The interviews with the professional developers featured in this study form the backbone for
this chapter. The context of each semi-structured interview and the data those interviews
provided will be discussed. In Chapter Five, the development of the emerging coding categories
and the emergent themes will be discussed. The conclusions regarding the research questions and
the recommendations for further study will be discussed in Chapter Six.
Researcher’s experiences
The genesis of this study is difficult for me to trace. Unlike my participants, my job
description to date has never included a formal professional development role. I am a teacher more specifically an English/Language Arts and Drama teacher. I am not an early adopter and I
did not develop an interest in computers because I love them. The opposite is true. Despite
having what many people would describe as a strong skill set, I often find computers frustrating
or ill-suited to the task at hand.
I started using a computer because it was the only thing that made sense for me personally. I
have Dyslexia, and my spelling is worse than bad. Although early spell checkers struggled to
decipher what I had written, they usually identified the incorrect words. At least I did not need to
re-write the whole thing or white-out to fix the problem. Computers were helpful because they
were more expedient than handwriting or a typewriter.
A number of the people in my family are earlier adopters of a wide variety of technologies.
Although I do not ever recall seeing computers used in a meaningful way in my early teaching
43
44
situations, I watched my family members continue to expand the way they used computers past
word processing and gaming to communication, composition, research, and collaboration. And
because I am always looking to improve my classroom practice, I began to think about the ways
in which a computer might be valuable for my students. I started by doing what I saw other
teachers around me doing, getting students to word-process and search the Internet. I tried basic
drawing and desktop publishing with my students. In the end, I concluded that how the
technology was used was critical, and that I was not seeing the results I wanted for student
learning.
Around this time, I began to seek the help of a teacher-librarian in the school I was teaching
in. She made a point of learning software and supporting teachers in instructional endeavors with
computers. She helped me branch out in a variety of areas, and with the encouragement of
another colleague, I applied to develop teaching resources to put on-line. My computer skills
were far from excellent, but the application said I needed to be a subject matter expert, not a
technical one.
I taught half-time the next year and developed on-line learning resources to support the
Drama 30 curriculum with the other half of my time. When I look back at what I created, it is
embarrassingly bad. However, the resources were the start of my development of a pedagogy
around computer use in the classroom, and they mark the year when I began to study how
computers were used in other teachers’ classrooms and why they were used that way. I was
fortunate enough to teach in a division that had invested in technology, but I could not see much
educational benefit for the investment. With two other teachers, one of whom I interviewed as a
pre-study for this thesis, I began a research study called Beyond the Mouse and Modem.
45
The study was based on Becker’s Teaching Learning and Computing and our study revealed
that computers were used for Internet searching (but not advanced searching), word-processing,
and games or tutorials. It found that professional development had little impact and that teachers
wanted to learn how to integrate computers. We learned that teachers did not have high levels of
skill, but generally thought they had access to technology. The study galvanized my need to
understand what was happening. I did another study with the same team, attended major
conferences, and joined technology and professional development groups and committees. I
began delivering a wide variety of professional development opportunities focused on using
computers in the classroom. As each new professional experience unfolded, I was left with the
same question: Why aren’t many teachers using computers to provide effective learning
opportunities?
Better understanding of the issues lies in what we are teaching teachers who are already in the
field. I turned to experts within my field in Saskatchewan for answers; K-12 educators who
regularly deliver professional development focused on teaching with computers in a typical
classroom. I wanted to know what they believed was effective and how their professional
development practice was shaped by their beliefs.
Perspectives of the professional developers
Karen Henderson
Karen Schmidt Henderson works for Saskatchewan Learning, and has been in education for
almost two decades. Before starting to formally support technology use at the provincial level,
she taught Home Economics and Chemistry, and then was an on-line developer and an on-line
teacher. Her Masters was focused in leadership, although her project was focused on technology
integration. At the time of the interview, the department Henderson worked for was called the
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Learning Technology Department (LTU), and her job took her regularly around the province.
Although it was hard to find a time to sit down with her in Regina, her level of travel made it
easy for us meet in Saskatoon at my home.
Henderson and I have known each other for a number of years and worked with each
other on a number of projects, which made me hesitant to select her for the study. As an insider
in the group of professional developers I am studying, however, it would be very difficult for me
to find a subject that I had no prior relationship with. Henderson has won the SACE’s Award of
Excellence and the McDowell Foundation Award for outstanding contributions to teachercentered research. She has developed web-based resources, taught on-line, and served on the
eLearning Committee of the ETC and co-chaired the PD Committee. One of the major focuses of
her job with the LTU was providing professional development to support teaching with
technology. I had to overlook my friendship with Henderson because she was the person best
positioned to give me the richness of perspective and context that was the focus of my precursor
study. I also hoped that the diversity of her experiences might increase the generalizability of my
findings and reveal potential issues before the main study.
Construction of self
Henderson is offended by being called a change agent, but she referred to the need for change
or critical thought over forty times in our two-hour interview. Her recollections of herself
focused on how her teaching changed over time, and her thoughts about her current practice
touched on changes in learners, changes needed in teaching, changing how we think about access
to technology and changes in professional practice. And while Henderson found the phrase
change agent distasteful, she admitted that the desire for change is at the core of her personality:
“I have always embraced change. I am not afraid of change. I dwell in possibility. That’s not
technology, that’s personality – it’s who I am.”
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Transitions and technology use
Henderson’s experiences with computers both embrace and defy common
assumptions about female teachers in the middle of their careers. And while she
identified herself as part of the community of practice of professional developers who
support the use of computers in education, she continually referred to herself as a teacher.
Henderson says she was not a “techie” or an “early adopter”. She described being angry
about being asked to use e-mail and word-processing in her lessons because it was
efficient and professional, but not using the computer in the classroom. She noted: “I had
support at home, because my husband really used computers. I think that home support is
critical.” Henderson started using computers for learning in a circumstance where she
found they were the “best tool for the job.”
Beliefs about the role of computers
Henderson’s desire for change in the school system is inextricably linked to her belief
that learning must be constructed by students, not transmitted by teachers. She sees technology
not as a vehicle for change in particular, but rather as a tool and a reality that compels change.
She discussed technology as a tool for inquiry and for putting learning into student hands,
placing herself as a professional developer who articulates value in teaching with, not from
technology. In addition, she believes technology needs to be omnipresent in education.
Henderson argued that “technology is ubiquitous in the real world; it needs to be ubiquitous in
education. We need to have technology immersion.”
Henderson’s concept of immersion is, as far as she knows, unique to her community of
practice in the LTU. It stems from her beliefs about how computers should be available and is
typical of her desire to think about and grow ideas and people. Henderson contended that
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students should be able to use computers whenever they are educationally appropriate: “We
don’t have a pencil lab. We would never consider having a pencil lab because we need pencils
and pens to do our work all the time.” Henderson acknowledged that this view may seem
utopian, but then contended that computer use, when appropriate, can improve the way students
communicate with each other, think, and learn.
Pedagogy
Henderson’s personal philosophy is also evident in her thinking about education. She sees
adaptability and growth as keys to effective learning. Henderson says that her “description of a
good teacher would be a coach. Someone who isn’t trying to fill a pail, but is trying to ignite the
passion for learning and really understands that they [the teacher] can’t do the work.” Her focus
is student development of knowledge through a critical lens, not effective teacher transmission of
information. She related this to her own experiences teaching Chemistry 20:
I walked in one day and I said to the kids “I’m not your teacher anymore.” And
they cheered and gave high fives all around. They were really taken aback.
I said, “You know what a coach is?” And they said yeah. I said, “Well,
what does a coach do?”
They said, “The coach helps you do better,” and that kind of description.
“What does the coach not do?”
“The coach doesn’t play the game. The coach doesn’t run the laps, do the
sit-ups.”
Then I said, “Why am I now not your teacher? Why am I now your
coach?” And they got it. They weren’t happy because it switched from me
working harder to them. They didn’t like it, but they understood. And it really
changed the paradigm in the classroom.
Henderson did not think that her paradigm shift was typical of other teachers in general. She
said that teachers “feel like the learning is their responsibility and they’re going to try every way
that they can to force information into kids’ heads in ways that they hope students will retain it
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until they are tested.” In addition to characterizing the classroom practice of a good teacher as
constructivist, Henderson thought a good teacher was creative and cared about students.
Professional development practice
Henderson reported that the subject of her professional development has shifted, but the style
was basically similar because of the nature of her job. Although she reported that teacher skill
level is higher than it was when she began this work four years ago, she was doubtful about the
transfer to education: “Whether there is more use in the classroom or more effective use, I’m not
convinced of that necessarily.” When she joined the LTU, many of the session focused on how to
use specific applications or tools. Henderson thought this was effective for “high end users”, but
characterized a one-day session to learn an application as largely ineffective for less experienced
users who make up the majority of teachers. She framed this point in the context of the in-service
she delivered the day of the interview:
By the end of today, there were people who walked out that door and nothing
stuck. Even though we did reinforcement, and we did one on one. We did all the
things to make it work. It’s just too much to learn in the time span. Other people
who have come in with other web design experience – it’s more effective for
them.
Now, she said, the LTU pairs instruction about technology with exploration of pedagogy. She
noted that when they taught Blackboard, learning how to use it was easy; “it’s the what and why
that we learn” that became the focus (author’s emphasis).
As Henderson described the professional development session she was working on during her
trip, she said the how is merely the starting point for the big discussion of what tool is used and
why that use occurs. She noted the session she had completed that day had only some of the
overall participants and was designed to help those who needed to brush up on using the
application, Dreamweaver. The next two days would work on the main focal question: “How can
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we use Dreamweaver with your students in a way that would support constructivist learning?”
She noted that work of day two started when the teachers “dig into the curriculum and look at
what they are trying to accomplish.” Then she had teachers look at Plugging In indicators, a
research model that works from Means’ work in constructivist use of technology (Jones, Valdez,
Nowakowski & Rasmussen, 1995). Henderson said, “Tomorrow we are going to talk about how
everything we do in the next two days has to meet those indicators. Then we are going to talk
about the choice of tool.” She argued that the real issue was how the kids used the technology
and the next several days of professional development continued to return to this concept.
Barriers
Henderson articulated many barriers to effective professional development like mandated
methods and topics, lack of access, security restrictions, time to learn, teacher expectations, and
mismatch of tools and pedagogy. Henderson perceived these as large barriers, but far from
insurmountable ones. She contended that the perception was largely based on her personality: “I
am not smart enough to understand that there are barriers. I am persistent enough that those
barriers come down - I make them fall or I go around them.”
Tom German
Of all of my interview subjects, I knew German the least. While we served in some of the
same organizations, I have never sat on a committee with him or even watched him present at a
conference. I approached him because his name is so often linked to initiatives, and like
Henderson, he has dabbled in so many different areas. German and I met at my office at the
University of Saskatchewan, since we were both presenting at the same conference and were in
the same location.
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German has worked with computers since he got his teaching degree in 1979, but initially he
had no formal role. German worked as a senior Physics and Math teacher for his first six year in
the profession, and soon became an administrator. He worked as a principal in a number of small
rural schools, and eventually accepted a half-time teaching, half-time technology position. He
has worked as a Technology Coordinator in several different divisions, is the STF representative
on ICTAC (the Information and Communications Advisory Committee of the ETC) and is the
Past-President of SACE (Saskatchewan Association of Computers in Education). Tom is
currently the Coordinator of Schools and Learning in Learning Technology for a newly
amalgamated rural division.
Construction of self
German talked about learning in every phase of the interview. He noted that “throughout
my career, I have always strived to do something more.” It was never enough to play with
something on the surface, he needed to learn how something worked and what potential it had as
a tool. He describes repeatedly switching platforms and setting up labs long before it was a part
of his job description: “I liked doing new things. It wasn’t just sitting down and working with
Apple Works – I wanted to try something in the background a little bit.”
German described himself as a “math/science” person and a “linear thinker.” He said,
“Computers fit that mode. I can understand some of the things that go wrong.” He described
himself as learning by doing, by making mistakes and by working with others, while at the same
time joking that his “left-brain” dominance was “no brain.”
While characterizing himself has a classic logical, objectives driven person, German was
very focused on good relationships. He described “a really good teacher” as “a relationship
builder and the curriculum itself is taught seamlessly within that relationship.” He added that
working with people is critical to his own learning: “I am able to work with a lot of people there
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and I always learn. I find that I am getting a whole lot more out of those relationships than they
are.”
Transitions and technology use
German credited his release time early on as an administrator with helping him develop an
interest in educational technology, but noted computers were never a part of his assigned duties
in his early years. In 1998 during a return to the classroom, a conversation with his director of
education gave him his first formal role. German was offered additional duties because he was
“the go-to guy” and he was able to handle the rapid changes of direction:
The director said ‘Listen, could we give you 20 days every year and go
around and work on our computer labs?’
I said, ‘No. If you make it half time I will do it, but I am not going to do it
for 20 days. I would have to prep for my students and it would be waste for my
students and for me, for no reason.’
He said, ‘Okay, make up a proposal.’
I said, ‘When do you need it by?’
He said, ‘I need it in an hour.’”
German credited an innate ability to understand how the computer was interpreting things and
a love of learning with his transition into his various jobs as a Technical Coordinator. He noted
that “it was a challenge and I enjoyed that. I am sure if it was the same role for 10 years I would
be bored with it, but technology changes.” That interest in change and learning saturates all of
German’s comments about his career and computers: “My career before my current job was
developmental. If people asked me what I did for a living in the last few years, I would have to
say that I learned for a living. I could live with that.”
Beliefs about the role of computers
German tests everything he tries with computers against his objectives for use and each
technology must prove itself the right tool for the job. German was quick to note a teacher does
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not have to use computers to be effective, but he stated, “Technology is a very effective tool.” He
said computers could be a time saver, but were not always efficient. He also qualified his
assertion that computers might give a better product by saying they could do so with ‘certain
tasks.” He felt technology gives “different opportunities” not better ones, and discounted
technology solely as motivation or because students find it fun.
Pedagogy
German’s pedagogy is strongly rooted in a relativistic perspective. He resisted attempts to
discuss learning on a theoretical footing during the interview and consistently asked about the
goals and circumstances of the learning. His view of computers in the classroom is rooted in this
perception of learning and in the questions he asks, which strike right at the core of the issue of
how we learn: “What do we want students to learn? How do we want them to learn that and how
can technology help with that?” When he first started to articulate what good teaching is, his
definition was relative to the teacher’s strengths. However when asked to characterize what is
bad teaching, his views became more clear. He argued that each good teacher understands the
context and his or her own strengths, and teaches within that context. Curriculum objectives are
naturally covered through the learning context and are an expression of a strong relationship
between the teacher and the students.
German argued strongly against the inclusion of technology because it is technology, and
argued that the presence of a drill and practice math game is far from “innovative teaching” or
“using technology effectively.” He said that drill and practice could be appropriate if it “is going
to work with the students I have, the concept I am teaching and the results that I want to
achieve.” But he contended “just take the class to the lab, throw the Math Blasters on, and think
you are teaching math” was not effective. Nor did German perceive the common use as effective
by his standards. He characterized most teachers as trying to acquire literacy skills and,
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therefore, far from understanding technology well enough to know when and how it was
appropriate.
Professional development practice
German characterized the school system and teachers as having traditionally engaged in types
of professional development practice that are ineffective for learning about teaching with
computers:
Teachers have PD time available to them on certain days and they want an inservice. That’s what they want and they think ‘Tom will do it.’ I’ve done it and I
actually will continue to do it because there is that 10% that I am going to hit.
Really I think the 10% is an exaggeration. It is less than 10% that really walk
away with something they are going to use effectively in the classroom.
He argued that his early professional development was set up in traditional sit-and-get sessions
because that was the way that most professional development was set up. His still does sit and
get sessions but prefers not to. He noted he had “evolved” into a practice that works much more
successfully; working “with teachers in a practical setting of their classroom with their students.”
He laughingly noted that what he learned was effective through practice was called the 3M
model. It is used when he models effective practice, team teaches with the teacher and then the
teacher is able to teach with computers independently.
German noted that in his newly amalgamated school division, the whole focus of professional
development would be different. He will be responsible for five learning support facilitators who
will work as just-in-time mentors in the schools. They will come complete with release time to
help teachers learn and will stay while they are needed. Most importantly, he felt, their focus is
on learning, and the “whole role in helping people use technology in the classroom is kind of a
sideline.”
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German argued the change in professional development practice is critical because “you have
to have it set up in such a way so that the teachers can experience what they are going to do
during their professional development.” He stated that teachers “can see that it is going to be
beneficial to their students, and not only that, but they see that they can do it.” He also feels it
adds to the comfort level that teachers feel with something new. His confidence in the new
method he will be using is palpable:
Today I feel much more comfortable because I see that we have the opportunity
of going in the right direction. I believe this is the right direction now. Before we
were doing PD in a certain way because that is what was always done; it wasn’t
that we were going in the right direction. You needed something; you had an inservice.
Barriers
German identified two key barriers, access and time. He felt time was greatest barrier to
effective teaching with computers, both for technology coordinator and for teachers. German
also noted teachers have limited access, which contributes to technology being an event rather
than a tool.
German was equally concerned about the focus of professional development. He felt that
while teachers might acquire the skills from common Professional Development sessions, it was
unlikely the skills would transfer to the classroom: “I have so very, very rarely seen a transition
of someone able to take their understanding of how Power Point works . . . into the classroom
and have their students use the product. Very rarely do they make the transition.” He argued that
there is a good reason we teach the skills, because “we are still at the point where people are
mostly at the literacy level.” However he argued the skills must be taught in context, and with
proper supports. Part of the problem he articulated was that teachers themselves know their skill
levels are low and are focused on skills acquisition to the exclusion of application in the
classroom: “If you were to ask a teacher in a staff room what they wanted an in-service in
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technology to be about, it’s going to be ‘about Word’. It’s about a product or tool, not ‘I want to
learn more about how this can help my students with the writing process.’”
Michelle Faucher
I met with Michelle Faucher at her home in Regina. Faucher is a member of InTech
(Integrating Technology in Every Classroom) subcommittee of the ETC. She is also the vicechair of the Professional Development Committee of the ETC. Faucher has been working in
education for a decade and she was a middle-years teacher in rural Saskatchewan before she
became a Program Services and Technology Coordinator. Due to amalgamation of a number of
rural school divisions, Faucher’s title and new job description may shift next year. As we sat
down to begin our discussion, Faucher reminded me that she plans to start her Masters in
Educational Technology at the University of Regina in the fall.
Construction of self
Faucher described herself as “very organized, very planned and very tidy” person. She
likes to have clear, negotiated goals and wants things to be demonstrably effective because they
meet those goals. As a result, Faucher identifies herself as a “synthesizer” and “generalist”.
Faucher said she became a coordinator because she “found the classroom to be somewhat
limiting and rigid.” She also did not feel like she was “empowered to make radical changes in the
way things were”, despite believing change was necessary.
Faucher’s dedication to technology use stands in stark contrast to her desire for structure and
following a well-laid out plan. Like Henderson, Faucher baulked at being described as motivated
by change. She noted, “Some people would accuse me of not being a change person, of being
afraid of change and not really valuing change and liking predictability.” However when she
described her job, Faucher talked about how much she valued being able to define it herself, and
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she celebrated technology because “it is changing, it’s fluid.” This love of fluidity is contrary to
her love of predictable structure. She said she valued changes, particularly educational reforms,
but resisted rapid changes without warning or consultation. However, her interest in technology
comes from its force as an agent of change: “Technology is new, novel and exciting. We are
always moving and changing. The wheels of change move so much more quickly in technology
than they do in any other area in teaching and learning.”
Transitions and technology use
Faucher was far from an early adopter, but she was a risk taker with technology. She
described her first real brush with technology as a time when she scheduled individual work time
with each student in her class. They met over lunch to research on the Internet, although Faucher
knew so little that she did not understand how to search for something because the Internet was
alien: “Nobody had Internet at home on the farm at that time. It was unheard of.” Her motivation
was a lack of resources in her school library, but the process was so frustrating that she recalled
giving up on the Internet.
Faucher returned to computers when it became part of assigned duties from a principal she
respected: “She told me that was what I was going to do and so I had to figure out how to do
that.” Faucher was converted because in her technology related classes, she was able to
transform her pedagogy: “I learned constructivism in the computer lab. No one else in my school
knew all that much about computers, and therefore, no one tried to infringe upon what I was
doing.”
One of the most interesting observations Faucher focused on was how she naturally
incorporated technology to meet her objectives. She discussed how she recently realized many
teachers do not see technology as a tool for meeting curricular objectives, but rather as a separate
additional obligation. Faucher found that “the vision of how to incorporate technology objectives
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with curriculum objectives crystallized for me very early on.” When she realized most teachers
she works with did not see technology that way, she recalled feeling shocked.
Faucher highlights this point by looking at the failure of sit and get sessions to transform
teaching practice. As a teacher she joined a staff where teachers had many sit and get sessions on
how to use technology and initially felt very intimidated:
So they were at a certain point, because they had had these sit and get sessions,
and I had to play catch up to get to the same point. But then once I got there, I just
took off, and they didn’t necessarily all just take off. Most of them just stayed
closer to where they were, and didn’t necessarily change their practice radically.
Faucher conjoins her dedication to technology with her belief in constructivist teaching and
meeting objectives, making the failure of others to alter their practice seem unnatural and even
“unprofessional” to her at times.
Beliefs about the role of computers
Faucher’s beliefs about the natural way computers support teaching and learning are
underscored in the dual goals she thinks early adopters have for using technology – pedagogy
and a love of new toys: “One of the things I knew about technology early on was that technology
would be in my teaching to facilitate learning. For me, technology is not about gadgets.” She
articulates that all teachers should use technology as a tool to support learning and is frustrated
about teaching with computers because they are cool or technology is an extra you must get
through. In addition, she noted, “I have always viewed it [technology] as a vehicle to get teachers
to rethink their classroom practice.”
Pedagogy
Technology, teaching and learning were continually linked in Faucher’s comments because
“technology allowed me to construct my own ideas of what teaching and learning should be.”
She did not separate her philosophy of teaching from her beliefs about the role of computers in
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the classroom. She identified herself as “constructivist,” but noted that identity was linked to
teaching with computers first and then transferred into her other teaching. When she is
discussing the use of technology in classrooms with teachers she asks about objectives and
pedagogy: “Exactly what do you want to know and where do you want to end up and what do
you want to be able to do and what are you going to do with your kids?”
Faucher’s descriptions of her beliefs about teaching are learner centered and “responsive to
the learner.” She noted that she “didn’t know that when I started [teaching], but I know that now.
Good teachers construct learning with multiple entry and exit points for their students.” She also
said that “good teachers are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about what they are doing, but they
are also not afraid to be learners with their students.” Her constructivist views are also rooted in
her idea that learning and goals or visions are achieved through consensus. She says good
teaching “encourages kids to find out what their potential is, as opposed to telling kids what their
potential is, and helping them to get there.” She also notes that her views of good teaching
continue to change and evolve, and are subjective based on her experiences and community. She
said she would now reject some of her former beliefs: “What I wrote when I applied to be a
teacher is ridiculous now. I think ‘Why did you ever say that?’”
Professional development practice
Faucher said that the opportunity to do the type of professional development she values often
hinges on her relationships with teachers and school communities: “I have built a good enough
relationship with them over the last two years, that they felt they could engage me in intensive
professional development.” She values group work followed by individual follow-up and
support. She noted that teachers often request workshops on particular technologies, and she
delivered those in-services while asking questions about objectives for students and vision of
learning. Faucher commented that teachers at early stages of integration of computers need her to
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help them construct connections between curriculum and technology, while teachers who are
more comfortable teaching with technology do not need this type of support.
Faucher perceives teaching with computers as a continuum of practice and described how she
conducted different types of professional development to meet teachers at different stages. She
did not see particular uses as ineffective in the short term, but was frustrated with teachers who
do not continue to grow. Faucher articulated that many teachers were starting to use technology a
lot at home or doing administrative tasks in their teaching, but noted that she does not “see a
majority of our teachers who are using technology to permeate their teaching and learning.” She
described the transition from some personal skills to imbedded computer use in learning as a
“gigantic leap” and thought the transition may need to be mandated or clearly articulated by
administration or Saskatchewan Learning.
Barriers
A lack of a clear mandate for the use of computers is one of the barriers for use, according to
Faucher, who said, “Some teachers that I have worked with have no desire or mandate to learn
about technology.” She also saw the need for a vision for where technology is going, and noted
that big changes in technology have the potential for major effects in the classroom: “We are
moving to the phase where the Internet is not going to be the destination, it’s the platform.” She
also felt the lack of vision or mandate results in low levels of funding, which seem to drive
ineffective practice. Faucher noted that, “One of the obstacles created by administration is
inadequate funding, all around. Because the funding is inadequate, the lion’s share of it is
devoted to hardware and software.” Faucher perceived the allocation of funding as limiting the
effectiveness of professional development and the potential for change:
Faucher was the most vehement about the issue of time. She sees it as a problem in both
retention and application of what is learned in professional development. Although Faucher
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understands the frustrations of time, she is also wary of people saying they did not have the time
because she said, “Time can always be an excuse for everything.”
Donna DesRoches
DesRoches was my third interview in the main study, and we sat down after school in the
library of the large urban comprehensive high school where she has been the teacher librarian for
the last 19 years. She has also been a teacher, an on-line teacher and developed on-line learning
resources. DesRoches is currently completing her Masters with a focus in Educational
Technology at the University of Saskatchewan. She is a member of the InTech subcommittee of
the ETC, which is working on developing a provincial technology mentorship program for
technology coordinators and lead teachers. DesRoches is also working on developing an
information literacy pilot program for her school.
Construction of self
DesRoches identified herself as a reader and thinker. She laughed at being 49 and in
pursuit of her Master’s, but her love of learning was the subtext for many of her comments. Her
own professional development was just as self-directed and reflective: “My best professional
development right now is my blog-lines account. I go from work and I curl up with my computer
in my lap, and perhaps a glass of wine, and away I go.” She loves to wrestle with ideas and
values in-depth thinking and “intellectual discussion about educational technology and where it
is going. What uses can facilitate educational change, what the perfect educational system would
be like. That’s kind of fun too.” DesRoches loves to learn.
DesRoches articulated the value of being “open to a wide variety of experiences” and
thinking critically using “higher order thinking skills” in both a professional and personal arena.
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She noted that she asks why a lot, and cites major turning points in her pedagogy as revolving
around key questions she thinks deeply to answer.
Transitions and technology use
DesRoches noted that she has no typical days and “every day is very, very different.” She sees
her job as having various roles where computers play a natural part:
I see the role of a teacher librarian as having three areas. There is the manager of
the facility. Then there is the teaching role; the collaborative teaching that comes
with the planning, teaching and the evaluation. Then there is the instructional
leadership, which is providing professional development for teachers in a wide
variety of areas.
DesRoches did not articulate a time when she started to use technology. Rather she cited
technology use as inevitable, given her job: “I am in educational technology because I am a
teacher librarian. You cannot be a teacher librarian without being intricately involved with
technology, because you can’t find, use or share education unless you are using technology!”
(author’s emphasis). She noted that many teacher-librarians would not have agreed with her in
the past, but she found that position unfathomable.
DesRoches saw technology as having changed how present the library must be in the
school. Because the school she teaches in has so many labs, it is easy for kids to access the
Internet and just “Google it.” However, DesRoches feels both teachers and students have a lot to
learn about how to find information, what information is useful and how to use it. Because of
this, she said “the library, then, has to have a presence that is not necessarily a physical
presence.”
DesRoches’ main focus as a teacher-librarian is helping students to “find, use and share
information” and that means working to have influence within the school:
It means constantly being one-on-one with teachers and talking about the
resources and what is available. It means keeping resources available on a virtual
library page. It is making sure that teachers understand how to use to use those
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resources, and are comfortable using those resources, so that they take their kids
to things like the on-line databases rather than just Google.
She feels that many teachers “equate kids’ comfortableness with technology with kids’
comfortableness with information,” which means the teachers do not understand how much the
students still need to know.
Beliefs about the role of computers
DesRoches sees technology, particularly computers, as a way to improve learning. When
DesRoches valued any type of learning, including the best types of projects in technology, she
“liked the thinking process that was involved” the most. She believes “the technology isn’t the
most important thing; it is just a way of displaying the learning.” Good computer use is always
equated to thoughtful learning from DesRoches’ perspective.
DesRoches used examples like Web 2.0 to explain why she is excited about the impact of new
innovations on learning: “I think these applications have the potential to have an incredible
impact on what we do in the classroom, and how our students interact with technology and with
each other.” Yet she also feels the education system is not prepared to take advantage of changes
in technology. She noted “teachers are just learning to use a slide show” and wondered, “How do
they now go to where kids are using wikis and blogs and social book marking?” She said great
technology use often focused around things Web 2.0 has to offer because “it is so collaborative.”
DesRoches believes the opportunity for students to work together is very important in
transforming how we learn.
Like the other participants in this study, DesRoches clearly distinguishes between using
technology because you can and using technology because it meets a specific goal. She
characterized using technology just to use computers as “the least successful ventures. When you
use the technology because it accomplishes a specific goal, it is much more effective.” And like
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the other participants, DesRoches said technology has the potential to transform instruction,
specifically to “reduce the amount of direct instruction.”
Pedagogy
As much as DesRoches might like computers to change the way we teach, she does not
believe that they have. She noted that the greatest inroads are made in computer applications that
reinforce traditional instructional practice, like slide shows. This bothered her, because she feels
that excellent teaching has students discovering the learning, not teachers transmitting it.
It is the teachers who really think about how to structure a lesson to lead kids to
either answer a question that the teacher has posed or take the kids through the
process of answering their own questions. There are not many teachers like that
whom I have worked with. That is another thing that I think we have to change.
We really, really have to teach kids how to ask questions, because they can’t find
answer if they can’t ask questions. They can find information but they can’t
always find answers. I don’t see many teachers doing that.
Like the other participants, DesRoches focused on establishing clear objectives for instruction
and like the others, she articulated it in a series of questions about what you are doing and why
you are doing it. She was frustrated that, “sometimes teachers have an activity, but they don’t
really know why.” For DesRoches, good instruction has clear goals for student learning, which
she contrasted sharply with a list of content provided by the teacher.
Professional development practice
Like each of the participants in the study, DesRoches observed that there has been a clear
progression in her professional development practice. She stated that participants attended
because “they were told to be here that day” and what she was teaching in sit and get workshops
“had no meaning for them.” When she looked back on a STF workshop she attended she said, “I
came to understand my own dissatisfaction with traditional professional development at that
time.” She contrasted her sit and get workshops with her preferred style, which closely
resembled the mentorship style explained by German: “We sat down and did it one-on-one, then
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I did the class, then she did the class and I helped her with the class. We worked together with
the class. I think that is the most effective form of professional development.”
Like Faucher, DesRoches believed her relationship with the school and the teachers was very
important in terms of gaining access to teachers: “Relationship is absolutely critical. It is too bad
that it is the personality of the teacher-librarian that the program has a tendency to rest on. It is
very wearing. You have to be able to adapt to many personality styles as well as many teaching
styles.” She also noted that “many teachers don’t want to share what they are doing with
anybody”, which can be a barrier to helping teachers.
Barriers
DesRoches saw more second order barriers than she did first order barriers. While she
repeatedly said “teachers don’t always know what they don’t know” she also stated that teachers
develop knowledge when they value it:
I think lack of knowledge is a barrier. And yet is amazing what teachers can do. A
teacher who barely uses technology in any way in the classroom has this amazing
phone. It can take pictures and text message. She knows that phone inside out and
can do a thousand different things with it.
She noted that “Learning something new and using it with your students is a big commitment –
in both time and risk taking. Many teachers are unwilling to take the risk and try something
new.” And even as she was critical of teachers not learning new things she also questions ethics
of “experimenting on our students.” However, she did not say teachers rejected new methods
because they learning about them and then decided not to use them for pedagogical reasons.
Like other participants, DesRoches felt both professional development methods and time were
key barriers. And like German, she thought that it was not just the system that embraced
traditional professional development; teachers did too: “It is so interesting that people complain
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and complain about convention days and how there is never anything there to suit them, but they
never want anything else. ‘Give us a motivating speaker’ so that we can do nothing with it.”
DesRoches observed that time was a another barrier and said “Teachers are reluctant to give up
that curricular time.” She also agreed with Faucher that, “Teachers need something that clearly
says, these are the skills your students must have by the end of Grade Nine” to make taking the
time to learn about computers essential.
Michelle Morley
Like Henderson, Michelle Morely is often thinking about technology professional
development practice. Morely is currently completing her Master’s degree at the University of
Regina and working as the Technology Coordinator for a division in southeastern Saskatchewan.
Morely first start teaching in 1995 as a Kindergarten teacher in a First Nations school, and has
taught a wide variety of elementary and middle years grades. She is a member of You’re It, an
ETC sub-committee of Technology Coordinators which plans professional development and
conducts research.
Construction of self
Morley looked at things she learned and was always trying to apply them to herself by
asking “What does that mean to me?” She thinks about many things, sometimes simultaneously,
and focuses on what her vision is while building foundations of practice, reading and research to
assess that vision against. She thinks about the way to get around barriers and problems, and is
always looking for a way to improve: “If things aren’t going right, I like to make some changes
to make it better. Even if they are going right, how can you improve it? You are never going to
be perfect.”
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Morley has a quick sarcastic wit, a ready laugh, and a desire to see students and teachers
succeed at investing in education. Throughout the interview she always referred to issues she had
been thinking about “this morning” or recently. Morley continually assessed about how to make
things relevant and how to help others build their own relevance.
Transitions and technology use
Morley characterized herself as an early adopter. In her first teaching position she was asked
to deliver some computer-aided instruction in addition to teaching Kindergarten. Morley noted
she had “taken a few courses in University” and “had a computer myself,” so starting teaching
and using computers were “natural” companions. She said “Internet had just started coming
around then, and I was one of the first people in Yorkton to sign up for it” and recalled asking
her director for a pod of computers for her Kindergarten classroom. There was no point in
Morley’s teaching where she began using computers; she did not conceive of computers as an
addition to her teaching in any way.
Beliefs about the role of computers
Morley’s descriptions of that classroom show how natural she perceived the fit to be when
computers are used in a “center-based” classroom. Morley used computers as an instructional
tool or tool for learners to use; she contended that in “everything we did, I just incorporated the
computer.” Morley used computers because she valued “learning in communities”, the “instant
response”, and the way some students learned one thing while she worked with others. Like
Faucher, Morley noted that she did not see computers as an add on, and even from the start of
her career she “never thought of it [technology] as a separate thing.” She was undeterred by the
lack of “guidance” from a division or the university she had attended. Confident that her use of
computers was positive for student learning, Morley continued to use computers constantly in
her own teaching.
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Morley believes her use of computers is not typical. She argued that the presence of
ubiquitous access through the pod of computers in the classroom was critical for her practice.
She also said that even when teachers use computers in their personal and professional
preparation, there is little transfer to effective classroom practice. Morley defined effective as
naturally integrated in the instruction and connected to learning goals. She also noted that
technology exposes students to “different was of learning: tactile, audio, and visual. Not just one
method.”
One of the critical issues Morley highlights is that technology cannot be an add-on either in
schools or in post-secondary institutions where we train teachers. She argued computers must be
a seamless part of post-secondary teacher training and used Mathematics as an example: “It has
to be part of the Math methods. It can’t be a separate thing, because when you leave that area of
learning and get into a school, you see it as separate.” Morley noted she has a “long way to go”
in helping teachers to understand computers are an integral part of instruction.
Pedagogy
When discussing her own practice, Morley described the value of students making meaning
for themselves and relating things to “the real world”. She valued experiential learning and
variety to meet all learning needs. Morley saw technology as a “natural” way to accomplish these
goals, but extended the argument even farther: “If you move the computers and have them in
your classroom, it is a totally different thing. You have to change your teaching practices.”
Morley saw learning in small groups, students constructing knowledge, and variety as key to
meeting objectives and students’ needs.
Morley highlighted her own views by contrasting them with how she was taught, and she
emphasized that the different learning styles of students were not addressed:
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The way I was taught was all direct instruction. The teacher stood up at the
chalkboard and said, ‘Blah, blah, blah. This is what you do, go do it.’ A couple
questions in your book, and that was the end. Hope you get it. There was no using
manipulatives in Math, or going out and doing Math Trails. Realizing that there is
math all around you.
Professional development practice
Morley noted that in her early professional development, she taught skills-based workshops
because teachers had low skill sets and wanted to learn about various applications:
They [teachers] are just hungry for how-tos. ‘I don’t know how to use Microsoft
Word and PowerPoint.’ So I got pulled with that group and sucked into teaching
them all technology skills, all year. At the end of the year, yeah, maybe some of
them knew how to use Microsoft Word but they weren’t applying it to their
classrooms.
Like all the other participants I interviewed, Morley concluded sit and get workshops on skills
alone did not change teacher practice. And like DesRoches, German and Henderson, she noted
that teachers preferentially choose sit and get workshops over forms of professional development
she believes are more effective.
Morley decided to do her own research to find out why teachers did not transfer the
information they learned, and what she could do to make the professional development more
meaningful. She concluded that pedagogy played a critical role and knowing how to use the
technology was not automatic for other teachers.
Barriers
One of the biggest barriers Morley identified was teachers’ understanding how to use
computers in instruction and learning. She quoted the teachers who are her research participants
as saying “We knew you should use technology with the curriculum” and noted that “they didn’t
know why they were doing it.” Morley used many examples to illustrate that much of the
learning she sees happening with computers is “incidental” rather than purposeful.
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Like all the other participants in this study, Morley identified time for teachers to prepare as
“a big barrier”, and she also argued that planning and instructional support were critical tools in
reducing time as a barrier. Like many of the other participants she identified low skill level as a
problem for a large of group of teachers, but not all teachers, and cited a variety of skill levels as
an issue that professional developers need to face. Like Henderson and Faucher, she noted that
teachers’ different skill levels and attitudes needed different types of professional development.
Morley stated that there are some systemic barriers. She used the example of the amount of
time she has “as an IT Coordinator” as an example, and like German, stated that network
management concerns often took precedent over instructional ones because they were more
immediate. Morley also observed that plans with the best intentions have sometimes had
negative effects. She gave the example of a skills checklist and noted in her division the checklist
said that “in Kindergarten you had to know where the mouse was.” Morley laughed that once
you had looked at a computer for a minute, you were done with computers for the year. She saw
the document as a problem, because it implied technical literacy was the only goal for the use of
computers in schools, and stated that teachers “became hung-up on kids learning the technical
skills.” She contrasted this view with her own view of student learning of technology skills: “I
think they learn the technical skills when you are teaching the curriculum.” Morley’s systemic
barrier is a pedagogical one.
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CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS
This chapter will look at the findings from the data to examine what abiding views about the
role of computers in the classroom underscore the participants’ beliefs and how these beliefs
inform their practice. I will start examining beliefs by looking at the common assumptions that
underlie the participants’ goals for computer use. Then I will look at their diverse goals and
perceptions of what is effective and ineffective use of computers in the classroom. I will examine
their views of effective use in the context of what they perceive to be current practice, and will
summarize how they believe technology can transform practice.
In order to understand how their personal epistemologies affect their professional
development practice, I will examine their diverse ways of knowing, including primary research,
experience, communities of learners and professional reading. All of my participants described
their current practice as a part of an evolutionary process, so I will look at their perceptions of
barriers and problems with technology, and their experiences with traditional professional
development, in the context of their transformed practices. I will also look at the effects of their
personal pedagogies, learning styles and perceptions of the pedagogies of other teachers before
concluding with a look at descriptions of their current practice and the implications of their
stories in Chapter Six.
Assumption one: ‘Technology just is’
For many years, I have been a part of debates about why we should use computers in schools
and I thought the participants would have many arguments about why technology should be
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used. The question ‘Why are we using a computer?’ was critical to all of them, but for the
participants in the study, the emphasis was on ‘why’, not on ‘computer’. Both DesRoches and
Faucher said outright that the debate needed to stop because “technology just is.” They perceived
computers as clearly present in daily life and the debate about whether they should be used in
schools to be obsolete. DesRoches remarked “You cannot be a teacher librarian without being
intricately involved with technology, because you can’t find, use or share information unless you
are using technology!” (author’s emphasis). Faucher said “Technology just is. And it is
incumbent upon us to figure out how to harness the power of it to impact teaching and learning.
It behooves us to do it in the right way. Why would we say it’s just something you do at home,
kids?” German was more succinct: “Why are we having this discussion? We should be just doing
it.”
Computers are omnipresent in our society, but the participants in this study believed
computers are not value free. They continually raised the implications of computers in the
classroom. However, the professional developers in this study have moved beyond justifying the
use of computers. They are thinking about steering those “inevitable” uses to maximize positive
impacts, a line of thought that focuses their thinking in two areas: change and pedagogy.
Assumption two: ‘We need ubiquitous access’
Henderson pointed out that “Technology is ubiquitous in the real world; it needs to be
ubiquitous in education.” Morley stated that the access to technology whenever you need was
critical in transforming technology use from an “event” to a “natural” learning practice, an idea
that Faucher, German, and Henderson all echoed. Their arguments noted that having some access
to technology means that technology can only be used to enact traditional practices, and the
transformational potential of computers in education is not realized. Morley noted that the
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amount spent on computers is too large if they are merely used to reinforce what we can already
do for less.
DeRoches established the fact that easy, natural access is more than readily available
computers. “Natural” use is also dependent on the way we conceive of and enact our learning.
DesRoches characterized access in her high school as “labs all over the school.” And while she
thought it was excellent availability, she noted that it has not really changed computers into a
genuinely integrated learning tool, because the pedagogical framework is absent. As the labs
became omnipresent, DesRoches noticed a change in the nature of her work. Her library needed
to be “more than just books” and “extend beyond” its walls: “The library then has to have a
presence that is not necessarily a physical presence.”
DesRoches discussed those changes as fundamental shifts in the structure to support learning.
Her role as a keeper of information shifted from being the manager of a collection of books and
media to the manager of books, library web pages, sets of links and, most importantly, an
information literacy plan for the whole school. DesRoches noted that the easy access to the
Internet has lead to students simply citing Google, doing cursory searches for information,
plagiarizing and other issues. She saw the need for all educators to be thinking about the
implications for our students as people and as learners. She believes effective use of computers
in schools must transform the nature of the learning, just as the technology has transformed the
access to information. DesRoches’ comments highlight the perplexing puzzle that Cuban (2001),
Ertmer (1998), and Hokanson and Hooper (2004) have focused on; the reason why information
about computers and access to them has not changed what happens in our schools.
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Participant goals
The participants in the study universally articulated that computers must be used in the
classroom to help students learn. In order to accomplish this, they all felt teachers needed to have
a specific learning or skill objective, then ask if technology was a good tool to use in achieving
that objective. All of the participants identified technology as a powerful and flexible tool that
continues to change and grow, but they all gave numerous examples of technology use where no
intentional learning occurred.
Four of the five participants also saw teaching with computers as a chance to make major
changes in teacher epistemology. They identified specific ways they hoped learning could be
viewed and selected computers as a tool to create that change because they believed it could or
would change teacher practice. Two of the participants expressed transformations of their
epistemologies as they were learning to use computers, and two of the others saw clear
pedagogical differences between their technology use and the way their peers used technology.
For the participants, their personal epistemologies about how we learn shaped their views about
how computers should be used, and formed the foundation for their belief that technology could
transform how we broker learning. Each participant communicated this foundation through
asking teachers a simple question during professional development. Why?
Goal one: Helping teachers answer ‘why’
One of most startling findings for me in this study was how strongly each person connected
the use of technology to the question ‘why’. The participants in the study framed their own
professional development practices and epistemologies around a series of questions about why
technology was used in the classroom. Each participant defined what effective use of computers
was and how their professional development practice had changed by discussing why:
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DesRoches: I think that is my role as a teacher librarian, too. It is to say, ‘We’ve got all of
this wonderful technology that teachers want to use, but why?’
James: Do you ask that ‘why’ a lot?
DesRoches: Yeah.
James: You’re a ‘why’ person?
DesRoches: Why do you want to do that? What do you want to accomplish? What are the
outcomes? What do you want to see your students actually have when they’re done this?
All of the participants in the study echoed German’s questions, “How do we want them to
learn?” Only after that was answered did they ask, “How can technology help with that?” The
professional developers advocated that computers were used where appropriate, not as a preselected method of supplantive or generative instruction. Faucher summed up the need for those
questions by stating, “Teachers, and professionals in all fields, need to be reflective practitioners,
constantly revising their philosophy and practice.” German noted that there are “so many
appropriate places to use it [technology]. But that’s the key. It has to be used appropriately and
effectively.” For each of the participants in the study, the first step in helping teachers to use
technology effectively was getting teachers to ask why.
All of the participants noted that there are a number of their colleagues who want to use
“technology for technology’s sake” and they were as negative about that practice as they were
about using technology as a reward, using technology to fill time, or simply never considering
technology carefully. Faucher argued that there are two types of people who regularly use
technology in the classroom, people who just love technology and people who have learned to
use technology because it filled a need, but have never developed a strong inherent interest in it.
German connected that thought clearly to the question of why we use technology:
There are so many people who are in the technology area who push technology for
technology’s sake. They are ‘Here’s something new, let’s do it.’ I ask the question
‘why?’ If they could show me why, I’d be behind it 100%, I am in. But I’m not just
because it is neat. I like doing the neat stuff. I’ll do it for myself, and I’ll drag a few other
people along with me. That’s a personal use. The ‘why’ is more important [in the
classroom]. Why are we doing this?
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Goal two: ‘Unleashing learning’
One of the clearest differences in participant responses came in a discussion of the goal of
using computers for learning. Like many in the educational technology field, the participants in
this study came from different epistemological traditions. Henderson, Faucher and DesRoches
emphasized student construction of knowledge through active learning, inquiry, collaboration
and critical thinking. They all noted that learning should be a student driven activity and
contrasted effective and transmission repeatedly. Morley made similar comparisons and
mentioned the same learning characteristics, but teaching for different learning styles and
making material relevant to students were more important for her. And while she stressed a
variety of learning styles, she emphasized learning by doing or experiential learning. Each of
these four participants talked about how the use of computers in the classroom could change
learning. Henderson noted that it “repositioned the teacher” at the side as a facilitator, Faucher
said using computers in her classroom transformed her to a constructivist teacher, and Morely
argued that if you have computers in your classroom, “you have to change your teaching
practices” to include less direct instruction to the whole group.
German’s comments were different than those of the four female participants. He was
reluctant to identify overtly with any specific style of teaching but said that all good teachers
build relationships. German noted that a constructivist teacher or an objectivist teacher might be
strong, and he focused on internal cohesion between objectives and classroom practice. For
German, excellent teaching and learning are always contextual. He wants to know “what tasks”
are being considered and “who will be doing” them before he thinks about what might work
relative to the situation. In his understanding, computers are important tools you can use in the
context of teaching and learning. However, he did not state they had the power to transform
teaching.
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Perceptions of effective and ineffective use
In general, the participants found it easier to identify ineffective uses than effective ones.
And while there was universal agreement about which uses were clearly bad, some participants
identified uses as effective while others did not mention them. Interestingly, none of the uses
labeled as ‘ineffective’ by one participant were labeled as effective by another, even though there
were only a few absolute agreements about which specific practices were effective.
Perceptions of effective uses of computers in the classroom
All of the participants defined effective use of computers first and foremost as use that
meets curricular objectives. While the value of things like software to enhance instruction and
access to information were discussed, they were mentioned in the context of curriculum
objectives. The same was true for benefits like building life or technical skills and creating a
quality end product. Both as a group and individually, the participants focused on objectives over
potential benefits.
With the exception of German, all of the participants also stressed the value of computers
in generative process. They emphasized student use of computers and student construction of
knowledge rather than teacher transmission. For the women in the study, one of the attractions of
computers was that it moved teachers towards the belief that students construct learning and
make it meaningful.
The lack of clear agreement about what is effective is an interesting one. In my study, the
weight of the idea that computers could transform education split along gender lines. However, I
gathered no evidence that lead me to believe the split was correlated to gender because the study
was not designed to assess the role of gender in participant perceptions.
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Perceptions of ineffective uses of computers in the classroom
Morley described ineffective use as use where the learning is “incidental” rather than
purposeful. Both German and Morley used drill and practice games as an example. They argued
that even well made games are poorly used if they are not directly connected to what the teacher
is currently teaching. They argued in order for that drill and practice to be effective, it must be
used to reinforce a concept that has just been taught, but they stated that often such games are
used as reward. All of the participants built similar arguments about various applications and
they all emphasized an epistemological framework for practice.
The participants contended that technology access needs to be ubiquitous and they
characterized technology as an “event” as the common by-product of spotty or scheduled access
in combination with pedagogy. Faucher and Henderson noted that computers as an event have
little value because they do not allow the technology to be selected when it is the best tool for
job; rather it is a hammer you use every Wednesday at two o’clock, whether you are building
something or not. They noted that in many elementary schools, a class goes to the lab at a
scheduled time and is supervised while their teacher gets some preparation time. Using an
example from her career as illustration, Morley noted that such uses actually compound a series
of problems:
The first year I was full-time, half my time was spent supervising kids in the computer
lab so the teachers could get prep time. It went against everything I believed in. I don’t
know what they are learning in the classroom. That was totally taking it [technology] out
of context. The kids probably gained a bunch of technology skills, which wasn’t the
worst thing. But because their teacher wasn’t with them in there, they were never
applying them anywhere else.
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Perceptions of current practice
The participants noted that current practice was generally ineffective. All of the participants
noted that computers are primarily used for games or tutorials, word processing and Internet
searching in classrooms. Morley noted, “We know things aren’t good.” The participants in the
study noted that teacher skill level was generally low, and all of them noted that even when
teacher skill levels improved, teachers did not generally use computers effectively. All the
participants traced the issue to teachers needing to think more about how and why they were
using technology and less about what to do. German was very specific about the nature of the
problem:
If I were to sit in a classroom all day long, almost any classroom, I would find that there
was very limited use of technology in terms of making it fit into the teaching strategies
that the teacher was using that day. It seems like most of the focuses are ‘Let’s go to the
lab’ as an event, as an outing. It doesn’t have to do with what they were teaching that day
in their unit plans.
The participants in the study were all focused on their own objectives when they were
teachers and instinctively used technology to meet them. They all expressed shock, dismay,
frustration and confusion when they described realizing that other teachers did not think about
computers in the same way. Faucher noted for her, pedagogy and use of computers were always
interrelated; however, she noted that for many teachers she works with, the connection must be
explicitly made and reinforced. Morley discovered the same thing working with a focus group of
teachers for her masters.
In our conversations, the participants were very clear about what effective practice was,
and how far current practice was from what they believed to be effective. They also described
how difficult it was to change teacher practice through professional development. And while
they articulated a number of Ertmer’s first order barriers, they returned again and again to her
second order ones. The participants all stated that teachers’ understanding of why technology is
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used is the key to changing practice; in short, the participants believe pedagogy is the critical
component in changing some use of computers into effective use of computers.
‘Transforming teaching and learning’
The professional developers in this study all expressed frustration with their work. Each
one gave me examples of failed professional development to illustrate discoveries they made
about how to help teachers learn. They raised systemic problems, resource shortages, and lack of
time to do what they needed to do. Despite that, each of the participants expressed a lot of
excitement about their work, and specifically, an interest in learning.
Each of the participants described working with computers as an opportunity to be a part
of a changing and growing environment. German described his job as “learning for a living” and
DesRoches discussed “facilitating educational change” and then noted that “it’s not so much the
change that intrigues me, it’s the learning.” Faucher stated that “technology is new, novel and
exciting. We are always moving and changing. The wheels of change move so much more
quickly in technology than they do in any other area in teaching and learning.” For Morley,
Faucher, DesRoches and Henderson, advocating the use of computers in classrooms was about
advocating for change. Faucher said, “Whether it is classroom management, the role of the
teacher, or assessment and evaluation, it is a good way to say, ‘Hold on, let’s look at what we are
doing.’” Henderson used stronger language and said, “I want a revolution with technology.”
Understanding the effects of personal epistemology on professional development practice
In order to understand the far-reaching effects of the professional developers’ beliefs
about the use of computers in the classroom on their practice, I needed to understand what
comprised their epistemologies of professional development. For each professional developer, I
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asked myself a simple question “How do you know what you know?” and looked to the data for
the answer. I looked at their ways of knowing, their primary research, the role of reading in their
learning, the influence of colleagues, and effects of their experiences.
Types of barriers and problems with technology
The participants in the study articulated an interwoven mix of primary and secondary barriers
to computer use. All of the participants identified primary barriers like ubiquitous access to
technology and some form of lack of time, frequently, lack of time to learn. They unanimously
identified teacher technology skill. In addition, the participants identified secondary barriers like
teacher perceptions of lack of time in the curriculum, teacher pedagogy and teacher perceptions
of learning.
Even as the professional developers identified primary barriers, they linked them to secondary
ones. Henderson’s goal for ubiquitous access was changing pedagogy and Faucher linked
technology skill to understanding of why to integrate computers. The participants indicated that
their experiences taught them that second order barriers are critical and often entangled with first
order ones. In addition, the participants articulated the fact that resolving second order barriers
was critical in moving the computer use from occasional and incidental use to a frequent and
valuable tool for teaching and learning.
Ertmer (1999) noted that simple uses enact existing classroom practice, but “extensive uses
challenge traditional classroom culture and as well as teachers’ beliefs about the teaching
learning practice” (p. 48), and the professional developers in the study articulated similar views
as they discussed barriers to technology use. DesRoches, Faucher, Henderson and Morley
discussed seeing the potential of technology and assessing the value changes to classroom
practice and views of teaching and learning. Each of the women articulated a clear epistemology
and related her views about the role of computers in the classroom. In addition, each of them
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talked about the change in her professional development practice when it became clear that
professional development style and frequency were additional barriers.
Belief that traditional professional development does not meet the need
Every participant in the study discussed a transition from sit and get sessions about how to use
a computer or application to practice that involved explicit pedagogical elements. For each
person, the transition was deliberate and related to a perception that the sit and get sessions were
not resulting in altered teacher practice. Henderson described the process of providing
professional development that does not meet teacher need as “heartbreaking” and DesRoches
described it as “disheartening”. Each person continued to evolve his or her professional
development practice to better meet teacher need, and in the process, the participants developed
views and practices that were more similar to each other than the views and practices they held
when they first became professional developers.
Each of the participants was negative about traditional forms of computer professional
development. They noted these forms had little imbedded pedagogy and little impact. German
hypothesized traditional professional development met the needs of less than 10% of his
teachers, DesRoches described it as “one of the least effective forms” and Faucher noted
everyone erroneously assumed the sit and get sessions meant “automatic transfer.” She said
teachers learned the applications some of the time but rarely applied it to their practice. In
addition, all of the professional developers indicted that teachers actually request sit and get
sessions preferentially, compounding the problem.
German connected these requests to teacher lack of knowledge: “If you were to ask teachers
in a staff room what they wanted an in-service in technology to be about, it’s going to be ‘about
Word’. It’s about a product or tool, not I want to learn more about how this can help my students
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with the writing process.” German went on to say that the problem is a result of low technology
literacy levels.
Each of the professional developers explained how their practice changes as a result of early
sit and get sessions. German’s description of his current view of sit and get sessions illustrates
the process of changing pedagogy and practice. He established his belief that “one of the worst
things I can do is sit down and have an in-service on something, like PowerPoint for example. If
I have to have one of those in-services, what I try to do is re-focus it.” He noted that he
specifically focuses the in-service on how to use a tool with students, what objectives you might
have and why you might do specific things. German stated he had a very specific justification for
the shift:
I have so very, very rarely seen a transition of someone able to take their understanding
of how PowerPoint works – I am using PowerPoint as an example – into the classroom
and have their students use the product. Very rarely do they make the transition. If you
talk about how do we use these tools, and PowerPoint is one of the tools they can use,
they will say ‘Okay, I will try PowerPoint.’ There is more of a chance of making that
transition if you approach it in that way.
Both German’s belief and his justification for those beliefs found validation in the beliefs of the
other participants. Each person described a transformed practice of professional development and
minor modifications they made. Then each person discussed advocating for major shifts in the
provision of professional development that radically alter what teachers might learn or do.
How professional developers acquired beliefs
How the participants’ views develop and evolve is critical in understanding how their
epistemology shapes their practice. In each case, the participants stated they had learned about
how to structure their practice predominantly through trial and error. Each of them noted that
they became an advocate for change because what they were doing by default did not work. The
participants noted that the practice of teaching with technology in schools continues to evolve,
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and as a result, the structures are fluid. Each participant mentioned being attracted to being able
to learn and then change things based on what they were learning.
Praxis alone was not the sole factor in evolving epistemologies. Other things like reflection
and discussion have been key learning tools for the participants. Morley noted that thinking
about her “own beliefs, pedagogy and how I did things” have been critical in her transition to
effective professional development to support teaching and learning with computers. Henderson
talked about the critical role of her learning community at work: “We started talking about the
research we had been doing and the flaws in PD.” She described a lot of time on the road spent
in professional dialogue. DesRoches described an ongoing conversation with a colleague about
the potential of computers, the nature of teaching and learning and how to change education.
In addition to the dialogue of practitioners, the dialogue of academics also shaped
participants. Formal learning shaped Morley through her thesis, and some of the other
participants also discussed classes or formal reading. DesRoches talked about her professional
development practice changing based on sessions from the Saskatchewan Professional
Development Unit. German and Faucher discussed hybrids of practitioner and academic
learning. They talked about learning from those they sat on committees with or met through
professional organizations, and both of them laughingly mentioned theories they had developed
by experience only to learn from colleagues that they were academic theories developed from
studies.
Transformation of professional development practice
The professional developers in the study characterized their views of effective professional
development as very different than those they started with. DesRoches observed that she
probably would not have called her current practice professional development some years ago.
She described her “most effective form of professional development” as the professional
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developer planning with the teacher, demonstrating with the students, and then the teacher
working with the students. German, Morley, and Faucher noted the value of similar models in
their divisions and expressed excitement about them. Henderson noted that “extended periods of
time to learn, follow up support, opportunities to come back together to share” and other similar
elements have made practice much more effective. The other participants were also specific
about the need for support. German noted that we are in “transition right now” in our provincial
practice of professional development to support teaching with computers. Each of the
participants, even those who came to professional development just a few years ago, noted that
they had come to understand how to shape professional development to make it much more
effective.
I questioned my participants about systemic barriers to the professional development they
believed was effective, and they named some like funding and release time. However, they
generally felt empowered to change what they did, and many described successfully making the
case for change in their work places. As a group, they generally felt free to make minor changes
and also felt empowered to try to create change on larger levels. My study did not establish if the
barriers were minor, or if the participants perceived themselves as having high efficacy in
creating change based on personality. The participants said things that contradicted each other
and sometimes individuals attributed things to multiple causes.
Addition of pedagogy
The participants’ movement to different forms of professional development was tied to their
personal pedagogies and learning styles, and to their perceptions of the pedagogies of other
teachers. Coopla (2004) noted that teachers must decide “whether the computers are worth using
before they can learn how to use them in the classroom; otherwise they do not focus sufficiently
on the learning process to overcome all the barriers they encounter” (p. 111-112, author’s
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emphasis) For each of the professional developers in this study, the use of computers was clearly
linked to pedagogical analysis about why computers were worth using, and their responses about
why computers should be used in the classroom were often indistinguishable from answers about
what good teaching and learning look like. The participants discussed the benefits of using
computers as relative to circumstance and situated in an effective context. Their beliefs about
good teaching and learning were intellectual, created through experience, and evolving. German,
Faucher and Henderson reported that they approach each new thing critically, including
computers, and each use is predicated on an educational need being met. Pedagogy, not available
technology, was the key factor for each of the participants in the study.
Each of the participants in the study used technology differently. Their descriptions of how
they used software, how they framed professional development and their motivations for using
technology were dependent on their values and epistemologies. Morley, who values learning by
doing, expressed the value of the computer in terms of experiential learning. Henderson and
Faucher, who learn by constructing their own understanding, talked about the power of the
computer as a tool for generative, student directed learning. For DesRoches, understanding
information through inquiry is key, and she focused on computers as tools for information and
disinformation. Each participant framed the value of computers in the classroom in the context of
his or her personal learning style.
While personal learning style was strongly correlated to the uses of computers advocated by
the professional developers, there were uses they advocated that transcended style. All of the
participants stressed the value of computers in terms of collaboration and communication, and
the value of the Internet as a source of information that could be accessed through the computer.
Certain values of the technology appeared to be independent of learning style, and participants
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perceived certain benefits of computers independently of their learning preferences. In addition,
participants talked about the future of computers with a much more unified voice than they had
when they talked about the present. While their perceptions of the current value were strongly
rooted in their own learning styles and personal pedagogies, their perceptions of the future
seemed largely dependent on intellectual conversations and research they were “playing with”.
Many of the participants talked about the Web 2.0 and how it might transform teaching and
learning. They speculated with one voice about the transfer of ownership of the learning to
students and how the Internet would become a place to construct rather than transmit knowledge.
They also saw this transition as student driven, and thought that teachers would harness it or
become less relevant.
The issue of the role of teacher in the learning process was a major part of the conversation I
had with the professional developers. They often chose to contrast their own pedagogy with the
pedagogy of other teachers and characterized teachers as needing to be more rigorous or shift
their thought. Faucher, German and Morley were critical of what they saw as an artificial
separation between what we do with students and our goals in doing it. They were impatient with
teacher and student activity that did not meet specific learning goals. Both Henderson and
DesRoches thought teachers needed to be critical thinkers about their practice and understand
that students need to be doing their own learning. For each of the participants, carefully
considered pedagogy was absolutely essential for effective teaching and learning, and they all
felt teachers needed to think more carefully about practice. However, many of them articulated
that they understood how the daily demands of teaching made that difficult. Every participant in
this study was an advocate for reflective practice and felt that more critical reflection was an
essential part of making computer use in schools effective.
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Changing professional development
The professional developers articulated a gradual transition towards professional development
that meet Specks’ characteristics of adult learning, although none of them mentioned his or other
similar theories. They all mentioned at least six of the nine characteristics, and at least three of
the five participants mentioned each of the characteristics, except the enjoyment of a novel
learning experience, which no one spent much time on. With the exception of Faucher, each
participant described a recent and more successful model of professional development they were
moving towards which met all of Speck’s nine characteristics. Faucher noted discovering the
same characteristics but connected them to multiple examples rather than one recent one.
German’s description of his new division’s model of technology professional development
highlights marked evolution in the practice and assumptions of professional development. He
noted the model is teacher driven and “the teachers will request professional development help
from one of our learning support facilitators.” He also noted that teachers are given time to learn:
“When they [learning support facilitators] first meet with a teacher in a school, they will bring a
substitute and provide release time for that teacher to step out of the classroom and do some
planning.” German noted the time to learn is critical because the computer learning demands
more time effort than teachers have for planning. As a result, he noted the time is not “after
school time, outside of school time or a noon hour thing where you have to meet with the
teachers. That doesn’t work. You have to provide the time. Once you are through that planning
stage, I don’t think you need to provide the time after then because it is the same as any other
planning or instructional day.” The form of professional development German will be using is
specifically designed to reduce the barrier of time he identified through his practice.
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German noted the planning time has additional benefits, because the teacher’s informational
and pedagogical needs are met: “This will allow the learning support facilitator to determine
where that teacher is in their teaching and in the kinds of teaching strategies that they use, and
their use of technology and their ability and perception about technology. They will get to do
some planning about how to change their teaching and make it more effective.” The method
German’s division is promoting addressed Speck’s (1998) principals directly, but is most
focused on the ones needed to help the teacher make pedagogical transitions. German pointed
out that the focus is on experience with the technologies in the exact context where they will be
used so the teachers can see “it is going to be beneficial to their students, and not only that, but
they see that they can do it.” He notes the critical component is the transition, which according to
the professional developers in this study, is a very difficult element of the learning process for
teachers: “We want to do this model in their classrooms with their students. We want to
demonstrate what it is that they can do in the environment in which they could do it – with their
students. Then allow them to make that transition to doing it themselves.”
Each of the professional developers was very clear about the critical nature of the pedagogical
element of their practice, and German was very specific about how central that role is when he
summed up his division’s model.
Their [the learning support facilitator’s] whole role of helping people use technology in
the classroom is kind of a sideline, the focus is on learning and how can technology
support that. It’s not here is some technology and let’s learn it. It’s about how can we
support teachers in their teaching and students in their learning.
The focus on the craft of teaching and the definition of learning permeated all of the professional
developers’ examples. Henderson discussed specific epistemological positions as a part of her
professional development and Morley discussed the development and codification of her own
personal theories about the pedagogy of technology professional development. For each
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participant, personal epistemology became a part of professional development practice because
they came to believe it was an essential ingredient for teachers in order to reduce second order
barriers.
CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The last decade has seen the gradual reduction of clear barriers to the use of computers in
Saskatchewan schools. More machines are available, Internet access and speed are better, and
teachers have access to more information. Yet despite these changes in first order barriers,
computers remain peripheral to learning in school. Many teachers now have the resources to use
computers with their students but elect not to. I spoke to professional developers because they
are tasked with tackling the issue of computer use and each one works with many teachers in a
year. The professional developers in this study discussed many reasons why teachers do not use
computers, but their observations highlighted the fact that both first and second order barriers
must be addressed for teachers to use computers effectively with students. Their responses drew
attention to the key role that pedagogy plays in shaping teacher practice and also established
exactly how significant the professional developers’ views about learning and computers were in
shaping what teachers tried to do.
The perception that technology has the potential to help us grow through teaching and
learning was related to all of the comments the participants made. It was deeply rooted in their
assumptions that technology just is and must be seamlessly available to students. It was the
foundation for their goals of facilitating learning and changing educational practice. The
perception that computers can be effective tools in the classroom, but currently are not,
compelled the professional developers in this study to not only teach how to use computers in the
classroom, but more importantly, teach why to use them. The role of pedagogical reflection and
discourse in the process of professional development to support teaching with computers K-12
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cannot be understated. It permeates everything the professional developers believed in and
worked to achieve.
For the participants in this study, the connection between pedagogy and practice was explicit
and continuous. Their beliefs not only played a role in how they constructed experiences about
teaching with computers, they also influenced what the professional developers taught. Their
abiding views about computers and their professional development practice were difficult to
break into constituent elements because the professional developers considered the relationship
symbiotic.
Abiding views about the role of computers in the classroom
The professional developers in this study believed that computers could be very important
teaching tools if used correctly. They were not advocates of universal instruction via computer,
although they were advocates of universal access and believed technology is a reality of life in
our society. They clearly articulated that computers should only be used in classrooms when they
meet a specific educational objective. They characterized much of the use they see as incidental
or not designed to meet specific learning goals. The participants expressed a single criterion for
effective use of computers; technology in the classroom must be used to meet specific learning
objectives. Each participant framed the role of computers in teaching and learning by asking why
computers were being used.
According to the participants, computers could be tools for communication, access to
information, constructing learning and collaboration. They all cited numerous examples of how
computers could be effective in these roles. However, they also articulated that current practice
does not mirror these ideals, and suggested that the large scale ineffective use they see is related
to a lack of focus on why we are using computers to learn. The participants’ convergence on why
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we are using computers is significant for two reasons. First, it was the central point for each
person and was emphasized repeatedly, even when it was only tangentially related to the topic at
hand, indicating the issue was of critical importance to the participants and not something they
assumed others just knew and acted on. Secondly, dwelling on the question why indicates the
participants perceive pedagogical underpinnings as critical to effective use of computers in the
classroom, and subsequently, critical to their work as professional developers.
Why we use computers and their role in education was also an evolutionary question for the
majority of the participants. Four of the five participants expressed a role for computers that was
focused on systemic shifts in educational practice rather than the role of a computer in any one
lesson or project. They believed that computers had the potential to change how we teach and
learn, and that the changes would make teaching and learning more effective. They articulated
that the changed practice would make learning generative rather than supplantive, and focused
the transformational potential of teaching with computers. This group of professional developers
articulated an agenda of change. They expressed an ultimate of goal of not merely more effective
computer use when teaching and learning, but changing teaching and learning through the use of
computers.
While this emphasis on systemic change was not universal among the participants, it
resonated strongly with literature. Many researchers including Cuban and Guskey have focused
their attentions on the difficulty and promise of change. The professional developers’ emphasis
on change and their personal affinity for change were interesting and unexpected findings worthy
of further investigation.
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Affects of personal epistemology on professional development practice
The view that computers could be effective tools and could change teacher practice was at the
core of everything that the professional developers said about their practice and their personal
epistemologies. They each expressed a change in their professional development as they
discovered it did not increase effective use of computers with students. They discussed how their
views of learning shaped what they taught and how they taught it. They related all the changes
they made in their practice to their epistemologies, and discussed how they were able to change
division policy. They also expressed the value of dialogue with colleagues in shaping and
altering epistemological beliefs and corresponding professional work.
The professional developers represented their practice as a process of change. They
articulated early failures with sit and get sessions and the addition of explicit pedagogical
teachings when they realized teachers were not making the pedagogical connections between
computers and teaching. Their universal rejection of traditional professional development echoes
years of comments by researchers in the area (Jacobsen et al., 2002a; Coopla, 2004; King 2002;
MacKenzie, 1999), despite the fact that some of the participants described no formal research or
professional development experience that lead them to the conclusion. Experience led to them to
the conclusion, and resulted in each of the professional developers advocating for changes in
practice. A number of the participants described meeting with others who were advocating for
radical transformations in professional development practice only to discover that their
colleagues were making the case for a change which they already supported. The process of
spontaneous, simultaneous discovery suggests that their experiences are valid in a wide variety
of K-12 provincial contexts and starts to confirm speculation in the research.
The professional developers said their beliefs came from personal experiences with
ineffective practice. Each of them talked about their early practice as a default position in the
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education system. German noted that when you wanted teachers to learn something, “You had an
in-service.” Each of the professional developers described an experiential process of matching
their professional development practice to their personal epistemologies. In the process, they all
stated that they discovered a series of beliefs about what effective instruction about teaching with
technology is. Their personal epistemologies about both teaching with computers and teaching
teachers literally transformed what they did professionally, indicating that their beliefs may be a
very significant force in shaping provincial learning about teaching with computers. They
articulated a clear desire to change teacher beliefs and a conviction that pedagogy was an
essential element in technology professional development.
Except when prevented by external constraints, the professional developers in this study
shaped everything about their practice around their personal epistemologies. They became forces
for change in professional development practice in order to transform practice to more closely
meet both needs they thought teachers had and their personal pedagogical positions. They
changed the focus of the professional development, methods of delivery, duration, access,
supports, level of teacher direction and locations. The participants made those changes based on
their understanding of learning for both teachers and students, and they made those changes in
the context of a climate where traditional professional development remains what German
described as the default position. They articulated that they were able to make these changes
much more rapidly and at more fundamental levels than they have been able to in other
educational endeavors, and that their ability to make these changes motivated their work. They
confirmed Lia’s (2001) gap between the stated goals of our professional development and our
practice, but they believed they were making the case for change and gradually transforming the
nature of practice to make it much more effective.
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Implications
Professional development practice in general is starting to shift. Divisions are exploring
professional growth plans and other tools to give teachers greater flexibility and ownership over
their own learning. But if this shift is apparent in education in general, it is magnified in our
experiences with computers. Many participants in this study hope that computers will help us
transform how we teach and learn, and in the area of professional development, they seem to be
doing just that. Perhaps it is the greater flexibility Henderson identified or the changing nature of
technology that Faucher stressed, but for whatever reason, the professional developers in this
study have had some power to change how teachers, as a profession, learn about computers.
They have taken the opportunity to alter professional development, and they are transforming our
experiences with computers to meet their goals and beliefs. The epistemological views of
professional developers are critically important in shaping how teachers construct teaching with
computers, and by extension, how teachers integrate technology in schools.
The power of pedagogy in computer professional development for teachers is both profound
and troubling. The participants in this study were abundantly clear that teachers need specific
pedagogical direction in order to teach with computers, and that the effectiveness of the teacher’s
practice hinges on both pedagogical and technical understanding. And while the professional
developers were certain that pedagogy of effective computer use must be explicitly taught to
teachers, the participants in this study did not agree about what effective use of computers was.
While they identified common ineffective uses, their descriptions of effective uses were highly
dependent on their epistemologies.
The professional developers in this study each believed pedagogy was critical and must be
made explicit, but the participants did not articulate a common pedagogy. Our explicit
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disagreement may serve teachers no better than a lack of pedagogical information, and our
diverse pedagogies may make that barrier more pronounced. If the professional developers in
this study are correct that explicit pedagogical information on how to teach effectively with
computers makes the difference for teachers, then overtly contradictory epistemology has
potentially devastating effects. It is possible that trying to solve the problem of lack of teacher
pedagogy around computer use in classrooms may be pointing us to an even bigger issue, lack of
coherent epistemology among leaders in educational technology.
The need for a clearer understanding of second order barriers is underscored by the
participants’ belief that they relative freedom to create change and that technology was changing
and their practice was changing with it. They mentioned supportive environments where their
ideas, research and innovative practice flourished. They linked the pace of change and the
flexibility to the fact that they worked in technology professional development. The professional
developers articulated a common climate of possibility in the face of need and common views of
the issues, but they said the ways in which they reconciled these factors with their practice were
different depending on personality and epistemology.
Recommendations for practice
Recommendations for professional development delivery
Pedagogy is the gatekeeper for the integration of technology in schools. Teachers who do
not believe computers will help students learn will not take the time to learn about technology
themselves. Professional development practice needs to continue to move away from training
about applications and towards communities of professional learners. Professional development
focused on learning with computers as a tool is more likely to impact practice, and therefore,
have the potential to impact what students experience. The professional developers in this study
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emphasized that the focus on pedagogy is an essential element in effective computer professional
development, not an optional one.
The professional developers suggested that a number of other factors influence the
effectiveness on professional development. Time to learn is critical to teacher success, as is
planning and instructional support. Teachers at different levels of technology use have different
needs, and computer professional development needs to be just in time for each person, not just
in case for no one in particular. Learning needs to be both extended and applied. One-time
sessions are not likely to be used even one time. Divisions need to explore alternatives to
traditional professional development. Rather than division wide sit and get sessions, they could
better invest in mentorship models, release time for projects, focus groups and other extended
offerings.
The professional developers in this study discovered many of Speck’s (1999) principles
of professional development and have started to work to change what they do. Their past
experiences taught them professional development needed more resources of every type and
needed revision to be more effective. While the professional developers in this study can revise
what they teach and how they teach it, they generally did not have the authority to define what
was considered professional development or what levels of funding it required. Those are major
division-wide changes that only one division in the study was in the process of making.
Recommendations for professional dialogue
The professional developers in this study shaped what teachers learned based on what
they believed about computers. Their powers to shape what teachers learn means that their own
learning has to be a high priority in division-wide technology planning. Until the last five years,
little formal professional development was available for technology leaders, and even now, little
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of the formal professional development focuses on pedagogy. The majority of professional
developers are left to develop their understanding through trial and error or solitary reading.
There is one form of professional learning that the participants identified as critical, although
many division policies would not define it as professional development.
The professional developers in this study indicated that time to learn and discuss with others
was the critical form of professional development for them. They engaged in this dialogue in a
variety of ways, but the end effect was similar. All the professional developers discussed
changing and shaping their understanding of computers and learning through discussions, chats,
e-mail and other professional conversations. The time to do this with other colleagues in the
division and outside was a major factor in shaping professional developers’ practice. Because
they are the technology experts, many professional developers are not allotted formally
recognized time to learn through discussion with others. Divisions should seek to recognize such
time as professional development although it may not be as formal as other forms of professional
learning, because the participants reported it was the best way to stay abreast of changing
technologies and changing pedagogy simultaneously.
Recommendations for technology planning
Provincial and local technology planning needs to include professional development, and
that professional development must be sufficiently funded to be effective. A wide variety of
organizations now recommend that at least thirty percent of technology budgets be spent on
professional learning. While it is essential that infrastructure be functional to be used, teachers
must know how, when and why to use computers for the functioning infrastructure to influence
learning.
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Sufficient funding is not enough; technology planning also needs to include pedagogical
visioning. What effective computer use looks like and what supports we need to make that vision
a reality need to be a part of the planning process. This research indicates that different people
who work with computers have different views about how computers can impact learning.
Because communicating a clear epistemological viewpoint is a part of effective professional
development, it needs to be considered in the planning process and technical decision-making
needs to reflect the educational goals of the process.
In addition to funding and pedagogical planning, assessment needs to be a part of the
technology planning process. In general, the participants in this study assessed the effectiveness
of professional development based on observed teacher behavior and skill set. While they can
clearly establish what is not working, they do not assess what is working and how effectively it
works. Two participants mentioned some form of professional development assessment but no
one mentioned all five of Guskey’s (2002) measures of effective professional development.
Guskey’s five measures educational institutions to assess if the professional development is
engaging and valuable, what learning has occurred, if the organization supports the change, if the
learning is applied and how much student learning occurs. Each element must be assessed so that
potential problems in professional development are linked to the correct cause. The professional
developer’s observations are a critical element in assessing the effectiveness of professional
development, but they need to be supported by other tools varied assessment. Three of the
professional developers in this study mentioned the issue of assessment, but none of them
mentioned more than two elements, indicating more formal planning and assessment support is
needed.
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Recommendations for research
The findings of this study are based solely on the perceptions of the professional developers
themselves. Because this study was designed to look at how they construct their views, it does
not examine the validity of those views in the context their day-to-day lives. While I asked each
professional developer to describe their practice and use examples, my focus on the richness of
the narrative excluded a study that tested the validity of the professional developers’
understandings. A study that looked at how their views matched their actual practice rather than
their perceived practices might find significant discrepancies between what they think is
happening and what a researcher observes.
I expected to find that the professional developers believed certain things about how teachers
learned, but the realities of their work prevented them from acting on these beliefs. I found that
they articulated their beliefs and continued to transform their practice to meet those beliefs.
However, I cannot confirm or refute the existence of those changes based on this study, and
believe it is important to attempt to match the professional developers perceptions to researcher
observation of their practice.
Other studies seem to confirm gradual changes in professional development practice in
Western Canada (Jacobsen, 2003), and if the professional developers and these studies are
correct, it raises two important issues for researchers. First, does the pedagogical emphasis of
professional development reduce second order barriers? Secondly, do the differing
epistemologies and pedagogies of the professional developers have any impact on the
effectiveness of pedagogy-based professional development? Both questions are worthy of further
investigation.
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I choose my methodology for this study with difficulty. I am naturally more comfortable with
easily quantifiable data and clear delineation. However, I believe that the role of second order
barriers will require additional qualitative analysis. While such analysis is present in educational
technology, it is not common. Despite my lack of comfort in the fact that my results are not
generalizable, I have found the insights of my participants very valuable and they have taken me
in many new directions. I think that further open-ended research in this area could yield a wealth
of interesting ideas.
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APPENDICIES
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APPENDIX A – Letter of Consent
You are invited to participate in a study entitled Pedagogy and Practice: The effective use of
computers through the eyes of professional developers. Please read this form carefully, and feel
free to ask questions you might have.
Researcher: My name is Wendy James. I am a master’s student in Educational
Communications and Technology in Curriculum Studies, College of Education at the University
of Saskatchewan. You can contact me at (306) 244-1474 (home) or (306) 966-7670 (work). I am
most easily reached by e-mail at [email protected]. My thesis supervisor is Dr. Richard
Schwier. He can be reached at (306) 966-7641 or [email protected].
Purpose and Procedure: The study will explore pedagogy of technology use and the
professional developers who teach about the use of technology. In order to protect the interests
of the participants, I will adhere to the following guidelines:
1. I will interview you for 1 to 2 hours on _______________. I will interview you to
discuss your perceptions of effective uses of technology in the classroom and how your
practice as a technology professional developer has been shaped.
2. You initial interview will be audio-recorded. Additional short follow-up questions
may be sent via e-mail. You can withdraw at any time during the study without penalty,
explanation and without repercussion. Your withdrawal will not result in loss of services
at the University of Saskatchewan. If you withdraw, the data collected from interviews
and audio recordings will be immediately destroyed. Your participation will not require
more than 5 hours of your time.
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Potential Risks: Because the participants for this study have been selected from a relatively
small group of people, some of whom are known to each other, it is possible that you may be
identifiable to other people on the basis of what you have said. I will attempt to remove
identifying information and protect your anonymity in every way I can. If you are concerned at
any time that anything we have discussed may compromise you, you have full authority to delete
or rework that section of the transcript or withdraw your participation entirely, without
explanation or penalty. I will destroy relevant material immediately and without question.
Potential Benefits: The study may be used to inform the construction and/or delivery of
technology professional development, however, these benefits are not necessarily guaranteed.
Storage of Data: The original information or data including: interview audio-tapes,
transcripts, consent forms and electronic files on disk will be placed separately in two sealed
envelopes. These data, the research study results and other materials connected with this project
will be safeguarded and securely stored in my research supervisor’s office at the University of
Saskatchewan for a period of five years according to the University of Saskatchewan guidelines.
Confidentiality: The data from this study will be published and presented at conferences;
however, your identity will be kept confidential unless you chose to be identified. Although I
will report direct quotations from the interview, you will be given a pseudonym, and all
identifying information (name of your workplace or school, locations where you conducted
professional development, committees you are a part of etc.) will be removed from the report.
Consent forms will be stored separately from the individual interviews, so that your name is not
connected with what you said. The contact sheet participants will be destroyed after all data is
collected and all signed transcript release forms are received.
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If you choose to identify yourself, all statements that might identify third parties (name of
your workplace or school, locations where you conducted professional development, committees
you are a part of etc.) will still be removed. Please check the boxes bellow to indicate if you
wish to be identified in the study. If you do not select any option, I will assume you do not wish
to have your identity revealed and your identity will be protected. If you make one selection and
later chose to change your selection, I will immediately comply.

I wish to be identified

I do not wish to be identified
Right to Withdraw: Your participation is voluntary, and you may withdraw from the study
for any reason, at any time, without penalty of any sort. You may refuse to answer individual
questions. Interviews will be audio taped and you have the right to turn off the tape recorder at
any time. You may withdraw your answers to individual questions or completely quit the
research study for any reason, at any time, without explanation. If you quit, no one will be upset
or angry and there will be no penalty. All the information or data you provided will be deleted
and destroyed. If you withdraw, I will immediately open the large sealed envelope containing
individual interviews, and delete and destroy the information or data you provided. The other
remaining data will be placed in a new large envelope, which is then sealed. Next, I open the
large sealed envelope containing all the consent forms. I will locate the contact sheet and your
consent form. Your name will be removed from the contact sheet and your consent form
destroyed. The remaining consent forms in their envelopes will be placed in a new large
envelope, which is then sealed.
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Transcripts: The recording of our conversation will be transcribed and analyzed to discover
the patterns and themes discussed. You will be given a smoothed narrative version of the partial
transcripts with false starts, repetitions, and paralinguistic utterances (like ‘um’) removed to
make it more readable. I will check with you about your responses in the transcriptions. You can
add, delete or change information to reflect what you want to say. Only the ideas and words in
the transcript you sign will be attributed to you. You will be asked to sign a Letter of Consent
for Release of Partial Transcripts.
Questions: If you have any questions concerning the study, please feel free to ask at any
point; you are also free to contact the researchers at the numbers provided above if you have
questions at a later time. This study has been approved on ethical grounds by the University of
Saskatchewan Behavioural Research Ethics Board on March 30th, 2006. Any questions regarding
your rights as a participant may be addressed to that committee through the Ethics Office (9662084). You may also contact my thesis supervisor, Dr. Richard Schwier at (306) 966-7641 or
[email protected]. Out of town participants may call collect. You will receive a copy of
the study after it is completed.
Consent to Participate: I have read and understood the description provided above; I have
been provided with an opportunity to ask questions and my questions have been answered
satisfactorily. I consent to participate in the study described above, understanding that I may
withdraw this consent at any time. A copy of this consent form has been given to me for my
records.
_____________________________
________________________
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(Name of Participant)
______________________________
(Signature of Participant)
(Date)
__________________________
(Signature of Researcher)
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APPENDIX B - Letter of Consent for Release of Transcripts for Study
I appreciate your participation in the research study: Pedagogy and Practice: The effective
use of computers through the eyes of professional developers. I am returning the partial
transcripts of your audiotaped interviews for your perusal and the release of confidential
information. I will adhere to the following guidelines that are designed to protect your anonymity
(unless waived), confidentiality and interests in the study.
Would you please
read and recheck the transcripts for accuracy of information. You may add or clarify the
transcripts to say what you intended to mean or include additional comments that will be your
words. You may also delete any information that you may not want to be quoted in the study.
The interpretations from this study will be used only in my thesis and related papers or
presentations. Except for the researcher in the study, your participation has remained confidential
unless you asked to be identified. Your name or any identifying descriptors will not be used in
the final report or in any scholarly articles or presentations unless you asked to be identified.
In accordance with the University of Saskatchewan Behavioural Research Ethics Board, the
tape recordings, writing samples, and transcriptions made during the study will be kept by the
researcher in a locked file until the study if finished. After completion of the study, the tapes and
other data will be kept for five years at the University of Saskatchewan and then destroyed.
Participation in the study is voluntary, and you may withdraw at any time without penalty. If
this happens, the tape recordings and interview data will be destroyed immediately.
I,__________________________________, have reviewed the complete transcript of my
personal interview in this study, and have been provided with the opportunity to add, alter, and
116
delete information from the transcript as appropriate. I acknowledge that the transcript
accurately reflects what I said in my personal interview with Wendy James, hereby authorize the
release of this transcript to Wendy James to be used in the manner described in the consent form.
I have received a copy of this Data/Transcript Release Form for my own records.
_________________________
_________________________
Name of Participant
Date
_________________________
_________________________
Signature of Participant
Signature of researcher
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APPENDIX C - Interview Questions
Context Questions:
• Tell me about your career before your current job.
• If you have a typical day, what does it look like? If you have no typical day, can you tell
me about why that is?
• Why have you chosen to work in educational technology?
• What is frustrating about working with teachers and computers?
• What is an example of a typical professional development event or experience that you
lead? Can you describe it?
Main Questions:
• Teaching
o What is a good teacher like?
o What types of teaching helps learners the most and why?
o How could you identify the classroom of a good teacher by looking at it?
• Technology
o What types of ways can people use computers in learning?
o What types of use of computers are most effective in your opinion? Why do you
think so?
o Do you think teachers use computers in the ways you think are effective? What
examples can you think of for effective and ineffective use?
• Professional Development
o How do teachers like to learn?
o What methods are most effective when you try to teach about how to integrate?
Why?
o What prevents you from doing what you would like to do?
Concluding Questions:
• You told me about your role at work. Now I would like to now about the role of your
work in your thinking. What role has the place you work had on your view of the value of
computers in education?
• Has it changed your PD practice? If so, how?
• Can you recall any other groups that you were part of that affected how you think about
the use of computers in learning? Tell me about those experiences.
APPENDIX D - Letter of Request for Permission for Employee Participation in
Research Study
I would like to request permission for an employee of you school division,
_______________________ to participate in a research study I am conducting, entitled:
Pedagogy and Practice: The effective use of computers through the eyes of professional
developers. My name is Wendy James. I am a master’s student in Educational Communications
and Technology in
Curriculum Studies, College of Education at the University of
Saskatchewan. You can contact me at (306) 244-1474 (home) or (306) 966-7670 (work).
I am most easily reached by e-mail at [email protected]. My thesis supervisor is Dr.
Richard Schwier. He can be reached at (306) 966-7641 or [email protected].
Purpose and Procedure: The study will explore pedagogy of technology use and the
professional developers who teach about the use of technology. I will interview
_______________________ for 1 to 2 hours initially to discuss perceptions of effective
uses of technology in the classroom. The Interview will be audio-recorded. Additional
short follow-up questions may be sent via e-mail.
Withdrawal: Participants can withdraw at any time during the study without penalty,
explanation and without repercussion. Withdrawal will not result in loss of services at
the University of Saskatchewan. If a participant withdraws, the data collected from
interviews and audio recordings will be immediately destroyed.
Potential Risks: Because the participants for this study have been selected from a
relatively small group of people, some of whom are known to each other, it is possible
that a participant may be identifiable to other people on the basis of what he or she has
said. I will attempt to remove identifying information and protect anonymity in every
way I can. Participants may select if they want to be identified.
119
Potential Benefits: The study may be used to inform the construction and/or delivery
of technology professional development, however, these benefits are not necessarily
guaranteed.
Storage of Data: The original information or data including: interview audio-tapes,
transcripts, consent forms and electronic files on disk will be placed separately in two
sealed envelopes. These data, the research study results and other materials connected
with this project will be safeguarded and securely stored in my research supervisor’s
office at the University of Saskatchewan for a period of five years according to the
University of Saskatchewan guidelines.
Transcripts: Participation is voluntary, and participants may withdraw from the
study for any reason, at any time, without penalty of any sort. They will get transcripts of
conversations and may change information to reflect what they want to say. Only the
ideas and words in the transcript they sign will be attributed to them. They will be asked
to sign a Letter of Consent for Release of Partial Transcripts.
Questions: If you have any questions concerning the study, please feel free to ask at
any; you are also free to contact the researchers at the numbers provided above if you
have questions at a later time. This study has been approved on ethical grounds by the
University of Saskatchewan Behavioural Research Ethics Board on March 30th, 2006.
Any questions regarding your rights as a participant may be addressed to that committee
through the Ethics Office (966-2084). You may also contact my thesis supervisor, Dr.
Richard Schwier at (306) 966-7641 or [email protected]. Out of town
participants may call collect.
120
Please let me know what additional steps are necessary to request permission for an
employee of your division to participate,
Sincerely,
Wendy James